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THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 


THE    SHADOW    OF   THE 
CATHEDRAL 

BY 

VINCENT      BLASCO      IBANEZ 


TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    SPANISH 
BY 

Mrs.  W.  a.  GILLESPIE 


NEW    YORK  : 

E.   p.   BUTTON    AND    COMPANY 

31    WEST    23RD    STREET 

1909 


BRADBURy,  AGNEW,    &  CO.  LD.,    PRINTERS 
LONDON   AND   TONBRIDGli. 


?Q 


SAN'i'A  ii^i^.wx^^^. 


^  CALIFORNIA 


THE     SHADOW     OF 
THE    CATHEDRAL 


CHAPTER  I 


The  dawn  was  just  rising  when  Gabriel  Luna  arrived 
in  front  of  the  Cathedral,  but  in  the  narrow  street  of 
Toledo  it  was  still  night.  The  silvery  morning  light 
that  had  scarcely  begun  to  touch  the  eaves  and  roofs, 
spread  out  more  freely  in  the  little  Piazza  del  Ayunta- 
miento,  bringing  out  of  the  shadows  the  ugly  front  of 
the  Archbishop's  Palace,  and  the  towers  of  the  municipal 
buildings  capped  with  black  slate,  a  sombre  erection  of 
the  time  of  Charles  V. 

Gabriel  walked  for  some  time  up  and  down  the 
deserted  square,  wrapping  himself  up  to  his  eyes  in  the 
muffler  of  his  cloak,  while  at  intervals  his  hollow  cough 
shook  him  painfully.  Without  daring  to  stop  walking 
on  account  of  the  bitter  cold,  he  looked  at  the  great 
doorway  called  "  del  Perdon,"  the  only  part  of  the  church 
able  to  present  a  really  imposing  aspect.  He  recalled 
other  famous  cathedrals,  isolated,  occupying  command- 
ing situations,  showing  themselves  freely  in  the  full  pride 
of  their  beauty,  and  he  compared  them  with  this 
Cathedral  of  Toledo,  the  mother-church  of  Spain, 
smothered  by  the  swarm  of  poverty-stricken  buildings 
that  surrounded  it,  clinging  closely  to  its  walls,  permitting 

c.  B 


2   THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

it  to  display  none  of  its  exterior  beauties,  beyond  what 
could  be  seen  from  the  narrow  streets  that  closed  it  in 
on  every  side.  Gabriel,  who  was  acquainted  with  its 
interior  magnificence,  thought  of  the  deceptive  oriental 
houses,  outwardly  squalid  and  miserable,  but  inwardly 
rich  in  alabasters  and  traceries.  Jews  and  Moors  had 
not  lived  in  Toledo  for  centuries  in  vain,  their  aversion 
to  outward  show  seemed  to  have  influenced  the  building 
of  the  Cathedral,  now  suffocated  by  the  miserable  hovels, 
pushed  and  piled  up  against  it,  as  though  seeking  its 
protection. 

The  little  Piazza  del  Ayuntamiento  was  the  only  open 
space  that  allowed  the  Christian  monument  to  display 
any  of  its  grandeur  ;  under  this  little  patch  of  open  sky 
the  early  morning  light  showed  the  three  immense 
Gothic  arches  of  its  principal  front,  the  hugely  massive 
bell  tower,  with  its  salient  angles,  ornamented  by  the 
cap  of  the  Alcuzon,  a  sort  of  black  tiara,  with  three 
crowns,  almost  lost  in  the  grey  mist  of  the  wintry 
dawn. 

Gabriel  looked  affectionately  at  the  closed  and  silent 
fane,  where  his  family  lived,  and  where  he  himself  had 
spent  the  happiest  days  of  his  life.  How  may  years  had 
passed  since  he  had  last  seen  it !  And  now  he  waited 
anxiously  for  the  opening  of  its  doorways. 

He  had  arrived  in  Toledo  by  train  the  previous  night 
from  Madrid.  Before  shutting  himself  up  in  his  miserable 
little  room  in  the  Posada  del  Sangre  (the  ancient 
Messon  del  Sevillano,  inhabited  by  Cervantes)  he  had 
felt  a  feverish  desire  to  revisit  the  Cathedral,  and  had 
spent  nearly  an  hour  walking  round  it,  listening  to  the 
barking  of  the  Cathedral  watch-dog,  who  growled 
suspiciously,  hearing  the  sound  of  footsteps  in  the  sur- 
rounding streets.  He  had  been  unable  to  sleep ;  the 
fact    of  returning   to   his    native   town  after  so  many 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL   3 

years  of  misery  and  adventures  had  taken  from  him  all 
desire  to  rest,  and,  while  it  was  still  night,  he  again 
stole  out  to  await  near  the  Cathedral  the  moment  that 
it  should  be  opened. 

To  while  away  the  time  he  paced  up  and  down  the 
front,  admiring  again  the  beauties  of  the  porch,  and 
noting  its  defects  aloud,  as  though  he  wished  to  call  the 
stone  benches  of  the  Piazza  and  its  wretched  little  trees 
as  witnesses  to  his  criticisms. 

An  iron  grating  surmounted  by  urns  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  ran  in  front  of  the  porch,  enclosing 
a  wide,  flagged  space,  where  in  former  times  the 
sumptuous  processions  of  the  Chapter  had  assembled, 
and  where  the  multitude  could  admire  the  grotesque 
giants  on  high  days  and  festivals. 

The  first  storey  of  the  fagade  was  broken  in  the 
centre  by  the  great  Puerta  del  Perdon,  an  enormous 
and  very  deeply-recessed  Gothic  arch,  which  narrowed 
as  it  receded  by  the  gradations  of  its  mouldings, 
adorned  by  statues  of  apostles,  under  open-worked 
canopies,  and  by  shields  emblazoned  with  lions  and 
castles.  On  the  pillar  dividing  the  doorway  stood 
Jesus  in  kingly  crown  and  mantle,  thin  and  drawn 
out,  with  the  look  of  emaciation  and  misery  that  the 
imagination  of  the  Middle  Ages  conceived  necessary 
for  the  expression  of  Divine  sublimity.  In  the  tym- 
panum a  relievo  represented  the  Virgin  surrounded 
by  angels,  robed  in  the  habit  of  St.  Ildefonso,  a  pious 
legend  repeated  in  various  parts  of  the  building  as 
though  it  were  one  of  its  chief  glories. 

On  one  side  was  the  doorway  called  "de  la  Torre,"  ^ 
on  the  other  side  that  called  "  de  los  Escribanos,"  ^  for 
by  it  entered  in  former  days  the  guardians  of  public 

'  Of  the  Tower. 
■^  Of  the  Scribes. 

B   2 


4   THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

religion  to  take  the  oath  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  their 
office.  Both  were  enriched  with  stone  statues  on  the 
jambs,  and  by  wreaths  of  little  figures,  foliage,  and 
emblems  that  unrolled  themselves  among  the  mouldings 
till  they  met  at  the  summit  of  the  arch. 

Above  these  three  doorways  with  their  exuberant 
Gothic  rose  the  second  storey  of  Greco-Romano  and 
almost  modern  construction,  causing  Gabriel  the  same 
annoyance  as  would  a  discordant  trumpet  interrupting 
a  symphony.  Jesus  and  the  twelve  apostles,  all  life 
size,  seated  at  the  table,  each  under  his  own  canopied 
niche,  could  be  seen  above  the  central  porch,  shut 
in  by  the  two  tower-like  buttresses  which  divided 
the  front  into  three  parts.  Beyond,  two  rows  of 
arcades  of  inferior  design,  belonging  to  the  Italian 
palace,  extended  as  far  as  those  under  which  Gabriel 
had  so  often  played  as  a  child  when  living  in  the  house 
of  the  bell-ringer. 

The  riches  of  the  Church,  thought  Luna,  were 
a  misfortune  for  art ;  in  a  poorer  church  the  uniformity 
of  the  ancient  front  would  have  been  preserved.  But, 
then,  the  Archbishop  of  Toledo  had  eleven  millions 
of  yearly  revenue,  and  the  Chapter  as  many  more  ; 
they  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  their  money,  so 
started  works  and  made  reconstructions,  and  the 
decadent  art  produced  monstrosities  like  that  one  of  the 
Last  Supper. 

Above,  again,  rose  the  third  storey,  two  great  arches 
that  lighted  the  large  rose  of  the  central  nave.  The 
whole  was  crowned  by  a  balustrade  of  openworked 
stone  following  the  sinuosities  of  the  frontage,  between 
the  two  salient  masses  that  guarded  it,  the  tower  and 
the  Musarabe  chapel. 

Gabriel  ceased  his  contemplation,  seeing  that  he 
was  no  longer  alone  in  front  of  the  church.     It  was 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL   5 

nearly  daylight,  and  several  women  with  bowed  heads, 
their  mantillas  falling  over  their  eyes,  were  passing 
in  front  of  the  iron  grating.  The  crutches  of  a  lame 
man  rang  out  on  the  fine  tiles  of  the  pavement,  and, 
out  beyond  the  tower,  under  the  great  arch  of  com- 
munication between  the  archbishop's  palace  and  the 
Cathedral,  the  beggars  were  gathering  in  order  to  take 
up  their  accustomed  positions  at  the  cloister  door. 
The  faithful  and  "  God's  creatures "  ^  knew  one 
another ;  every  morning  they  were  the  first  occupants 
of  the  church,  and  this  daily  meeting  had  established 
a  kind  of  fraternity,  and  with  much  coughing  and 
hoarseness  they  all  lamented  the  cold  of  the  morning 
and  the  lateness  of  the  bell-ringer  in  coming  down  to 
open  the  doors. 

A  door  opened  beyond  the  archbishop's  arch,  that  of 
the  tower  and  the  staircase  leading  to  the  dwellings  in 
the  upper  cloister.  A  man  crossed  the  street  rattling  a 
huge  bunch  of  keys,  and,  followed  by  the  usual  morning 
assemblage,  he  proceeded  to  open  the  door  of  the  lower 
cloister,  narrow  and  pointed  as  an  arrow-head.  Gabriel 
recognised  him,  it  was  Mariano,  the  bell-ringer.  To 
avoid  being  noticed  he  remained  motionless  in  the 
Piazza,  allowing  those  to  pass  first  through  the  Puerta 
del  MoUete,^  who  seemed  so  anxious  to  hurry  into  the 
Metropolitan  church,  lest  their  usual  places  should  be 
stolen  from  them  and  occupied  by  others. 

At  last  he  decided  to  follow  them,  and  slowly 
descended  the  same  steps  leading  down  into  the 
cloister,  for  the  Cathedral,  being  built  in  a  hollow,  is 
much  lower  than  the  adjacent  streets. 

Everything  appeared  the  same.  There  on  the  walls 
were  the  great  frescoes  of  Bayan  y  Maella,  representing 

'  Pordioseres. 

^  Door  of  the  rolls,  or  loaves. 


6   THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  works  and  great  deeds  of  Saint  Eulogio,  his 
preaching  in  the  land  of  the  Moors,  and  the  cruelties 
of  the  infidels,  who,  with  big  turbans  and  enormous 
whiskers,  were  beating  the  saint.  In  the  interior  of 
the  Mollete  doorway  was  represented  the  horrible 
martyrdom  of  the  Child  de  la  Guardia  ;  that  legend 
born  at  the  same  time  in  so  many  Catholic  towns  during 
the  heat  of  anti-Semitic  hatred,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Christian  child,  stolen  from  his  home  by  Jews  of  grim 
countenance,  who  crucified  him  in  order  to  tear  out  his 
heart  and  drink  his  blood. 

The  damp  was  rapidly  effacing  this  romantic  fresco, 
that  filled  the  sides  of  the  archway  like  the  frontispiece 
of  a  book,  causing  it  to  scale  off;  but  Gabriel  could 
still  see  the  horrible  face  of  the  judge  standing  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  and  the  ferocious  gesture  of  the  man,  who 
with  his  knife  in  his  mouth,  was  bending  forward  to 
tear  out  the  heart  of  the  little  martyr;  theatrical  figures, 
but  they  had  often  disturbed  his  childish  dreams. 

The  garden  in  the  midst  of  the  cloister  showed  even 
in  midwinter  its  southern  vegetation  of  tall  laurels  and 
cypresses,  stretching  their  branches  through  the  grating 
of  the  arches  that,  five  on  each  side,  surrounded  the 
square,  and  rising  to  the  capitals  of  the  pillars.  Gabriel 
looked  a  long  time  at  the  garden,  which  was  higher 
than  the  cloister  ;  his  face  was  on  a  level  with  the 
ground  on  which  his  father  had  laboured  so  many 
years  ago  ;  at  last  he  saw  again  that  charming  corner 
of  verdure — the  Jews'  market  converted  into  a  garden 
by  the  canons  centuries  before.  The  remembrance  of 
it  had  followed  him  everywhere — in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
in  Hyde  Park;  for  him  the  garden  of  the  Toledan 
Cathedral  was  the  most  beautiful  of  all  gardens,  for  it 
was  the  first  he  had  ever  known  in  his  life. 

The  beggars  seated  on  the  doorsteps  watched  him 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL   7 

curiously,  without  daring  to  stretch  out  their  hands; 
they  could  not  tell  if  this  early  morning  visitor  with 
the  worn-out  cloak,  the  shabby  hat,  and  the  old  boots, 
was  simply  an  inquisitive  traveller,  or  whether  he  was 
one  of  their  own  order,  choosing  a  position  about  the 
Cathedral  from  whence  to  beg  alms. 

Annoyed  by  this  curiosity,  Luna  walked  down  the 
cloister,  passing  by  the  two  doors  that  opened  into  the 
church.  The  one  called  del  Presentacion  is  a  lovely 
example  of  Plateresque  art,  chiselled  like  a  jewel,  and 
adorned  with  fanciful  and  happy  trifles.  Going  on 
further,  he  came  to  the  back  of  the  staircase  by  which 
the  archbishops  descended  from  their  palace  to  the 
church ;  a  wall  covered  with  Gothic  interlacings,  and 
large  escutcheons,  and  almost  on  the  level  of  the  ground 
was  the  famous  "  stone  of  light,"  a  thin  slice  of  marble 
as  clear  as  glass,  which  gave  light  to  the  staircase,  and 
was  the  admiration  of  all  the  countryfolk  who  came  to 
visit  the  cloister.  Then  came  the  door  of  Santa  Cata- 
lina,  black  and  gold,  with  richly-carved  polychrome 
foliage,  mixed  with  lions  and  castles,  and  on  the  jambs 
two  statues  of  prophets. 

Gabriel  went  on  a  few  steps  further  as  he  saw  that 
the  wicket  of  the  doorway  was  being  opened  from 
inside.  It  was  the  bell-ringer  going  his  rounds  and 
opening  all  the  doors ;  first  of  all  a  dog  came  out, 
stretching  his  neck  as  though  he  was  going  to  bark  with 
hunger,  then  two  men  with  their  caps  over  their  eyes, 
wrapped  in  brown  cloaks  ;  the  bell-ringer  held  up  the 
curtain  to  let  them  pass  out. 

"  Well,  good-day,  Mariano,"  said  one  of  them  by  way 
of  farewell. 

"  Good-night  to  the  caretakers  of  God.  .  .  .  May  you 
sleep  well." 

Gabriel    recognised  the  nocturnal    guardians  of  the 


8   THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Cathedral ;  locked  into  the  church  since  the  previous 
night,  they  were  now  going  to  their  homes  to  sleep. 

The  dog  trotted  off  in  the  direction  of  the  seminary 
to  get  his  breakfast  off  the  scraps  left  by  the  students, 
free  till  such  time  as  the  guardians  came  to  look  for 
him,  to  lock  themselves  in  the  church  once  more. 

Luna  walked  down  the  steps  of  the  doorway  into  the 
Cathedral.  His  feet  had  scarcely  touched  the  pavement 
before  he  felt  on  his  face  the  cold  touch  of  the  clammy 
air,  like  an  underground  vault.  In  the  church  it  was 
still  dark,  but  above  the  stained  glass  of  the  hundreds 
of  different-sized  windows  glowed  in  the  early  dawn, 
looking  like  magic  flowers  opening  with  the  first  splen- 
dours of  day.  Below,  among  the  enormous  pillars  that 
looked  like  a  forest  of  stone,  all  was  darkness,  broken 
here  and  there  by  the  uncertain  red  spots  of  the  lamps 
burning  in  the  different  chapels,  wavering  in  the  shadows. 
The  bats  flew  in  and  out  round  the  columns,  wishing  to 
prolong  their  possession  of  the  fane,  till  the  first  rays  of 
the  sun  shone  through  the  windows ;  they  fluttered  over 
the  heads  of  the  devotees,  who,  kneeling  before  the  altars, 
were  praying  loudly,  as  pleased  to  be  in  the  Cathedral 
at  that  early  hour  as  though  it  were  their  own  house. 
Others  chattered  with  the  acolytes  and  other  servants 
of  the  church,  who  were  coming  in  by  the  different 
doors,  sleepy  and  stretching  themselves  like  workmen 
coming  to  their  work.  In  the  twilight,  figures  in  black 
cloaks  glided  by  on  their  way  to  the  sacristy,  stopping 
to  make  genuflections  before  each  image;  and  in  the 
distance,  invisible  in  the  darkness,  you  could  still  divine 
the  presence  of  the  bell-ringer,  like  a  restless  hobgoblin, 
by  the  rattle  of  his  bunch  of  keys  and  the  creaking  of 
the  doors  he  opened  on  his  round. 

The  Cathedral  was  awake.  Echo  repeated  the 
banging   of  the    doors    from    nave    to  nave ;    a  large 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL   9 

broom,  making  a  saw-like  noise,  began  to  sweep  in 
front  of  the  sacristy  ;  the  church  vibrated  under  the 
blows  of  certain  acolytes  engaged  in  removing  the  dust 
from  the  famous  carved  stalls  in  the  choir ;  it  seemed 
as  though  the  Cathedral  had  awoke  with  its  nerves 
irritated,  and  that  the  slightest  touch  produced 
complaints. 

The  men's  footsteps  resounded  with  a  tremendous 
echo,  as  though  the  tombs  of  all  the  kings,  archbishops 
and  warriors  hidden  under  the  tiled  floor  were  being 
disturbed. 

The  cold  inside  the  church  was  even  more  intense 
than  that  outside ;  this,  together  with  the  damp  of 
its  soil  traversed  by  underground  water  drains,  and 
the  leakage  of  subterranean  and  hidden  tanks  that 
stained  the  pavement,  made  the  poor  canons  in  the 
choir  cough  horribly,  "  shortening  their  lives,"  as  they 
complainingly  said. 

The  morning  light  began  to  spread  through  the 
naves,  bringing  out  of  the  darkness  the  spotless  white- 
ness of  the  Toledan  Cathedral,  the  purity  of  its  stone 
making  it  the  lightest  and  most  beautiful  of  temples. 
One  could  now  see  all  the  elegant  and  daring  beauty  of 
the  eighty-eight  pillars  soaring  audaciously  into  space, 
white  as  frozen  snow,  and  the  delicate  ribs  interlacing 
to  carry  the  vaulting.  In  the  upper  storey  the  sun 
shone  through  the  large  stained-glass  windows,  making 
them  look  like  fairy  gardens. 

Gabriel  seated  himself  on  the  base  of  one  of  the 
pilasters  between  two  columns  ;  but  he  was  soon  obliged 
to  rise  and  move  on,  the  dampness  of  the  stone,  and  the 
vault-like  cold  throughout  the  whole  building  penetrated 
to  his  very  bones. 

He  strolled  through  the  naves,  attracting  the  attention 
of  the  devotees,  who  stopped  in  their  prayers  to  watch 


10  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

him.  A  stranger  at  that  early  hour,  which  belonged 
specially  to  the  familiars  of  the  Cathedral,  excited  their 
curiosity. 

The  bell-ringer  passed  him  several  times,  following 
him  with  uneasy  glance,  as  though  this  unknown  man, 
of  poverty-stricken  aspect,  who  wandered  aimlessly  about 
at  an  hour  when  the  treasures  of  the  church  were,  as  a 
rule,  not  so  strictly  watched,  inspired  him  with  little 
confidence. 

Another  man  met  him  near  the  high  altar.  Luna 
recognised  him  also :  it  was  Eusebio,  the  sacristan  of 
the  chapel  of  the  Sagrario, "  Azul  de  la  Virgen,"^  as  he 
was  called  by  the  Cathedral  staff,  on  account  of  the 
celestial  colour  of  the  cloak  he  wore  on  festival  days. 

Six  years  had  passed  since  Gabriel  had  last  seen  him, 
but  he  had  not  forgotten  his  greasy  carcase,  his  surly  face 
with  its  narrow,  wrinkled  forehead  fr  nged  with  bristly 
hair,  his  bull  neck  that  scarcely  allowed  him  to  breathe, 
and  that  made  every  breath  like  the  blast  of  a  bellows. 
All  the  servants  of  the  Cathedral  envied  him  his  post, 
which  was  the  most  lucrative  of  all,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
favour  he  enjoyed  with  the  archbishop  and  the  canons. 

"  Virgin's  Blue  "  considered  the  Cathedral  as  his  own 
peculiar  property,  and  he  often  came  very  near  turning 
out  those  who  inspired  him  with  any  antipathy. 

He  fixed  his  bold  eyes  on  the  vagabond  he  saw  walk- 
ing about  the  church,  making  an  effort  to  raise  his 
over-hanging  brows.  Where  had  he  seen  this  strange 
fellow  before  ?  Gabriel  noted  the  effort  he  made  to 
recall  his  memory,  and  turned  his  back  to  examine  with 
pretended  interest  a  coloured  panel  hanging  on  a  pillar. 

Flying  from  the  curiosity  excited  by  his  presence  in 
the  fane,  he  went  out  into  the  cloister;  there  he  felt 
more   at    his   ease,    quite   alone.      The   beggars    were 

Virgin's  blue. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  ii 

chattering,  seated  on  the  doorsteps  of  the  Mollete;  many 
of  the  clergy  passed  through  them,  entering  the  church 
hurriedly  by  the  door  of  the  Presentacion  ;  the  beggars 
saluted  them  all  by  name,  but  without  stretching  out 
their  hands.  They  knew  them,  they  all  belonged  to  the 
"  household,"  and  among  friends  one  does  not  beg. 
They  were  there  to  fall  on  the  strangers,  and  they 
waited  patiently  for  the  coming  of  the  English ;  for, 
surely,  all  the  strangers  who  came  from  Madrid  by  the 
early  morning  train  could  only  be  from  England. 

Gabriel  waited  near  the  door,  knowing  that  those  com- 
ing from  the  cloister  must  enter  by  it.  He  crossed  the 
archbishop's  arch,  and,  following  the  open  staircase  of 
the  palace,  descended  into  the  street,  re-entering  the 
church  by  the  Mollete  door.  Luna,  who  knew  all  the 
history  of  the  Cathedral,  remembered  the  origin  of  its 
name.  At  first  it  was  called  "of  justice,"  because 
under  it  the  Vicar-General  of  the  Archbishopric  gave 
audience.  Later  it  was  called  "  del  Mollete,"  because 
every  day  after  high  mass  the  acolytes  and  vergers 
assembled  there  for  the  blessing  of  the  half-pound  loaves, 
or  rolls  of  bread  distributed  to  the  poor.  Six  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat — as  Luna  remembered — were  dis- 
tributed yearly  in  this  alms,  but  this  was  in  the  days 
when  the  yearly  revenues  of  the  Cathedral  were  more 
than  eleven  millions. 

Gabriel  felt  annoyed  by  the  curious  glances  of  the 
clergy,  and  of  the  devout  entering  the  church.  They 
were  people  accustomed  to  seeing  each  other  daily  at 
the  same  hour,  and  they  felt  their  curiosity  excited  by 
seeing  a  stranger  breaking  in  on  the  monotony  of  their 
lives. 

He  drew  back  to  the  further  end  of  the  cloister,  then 
some  words  from  the  beggars  made  him  retrace  his 
steps. 


12  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Ah  !  here  comes  old  *  Vara  de  palo.'  "  ^ 

"  Good-day,  Senor  Esteban  !  " 

A  small  man  dressed  in  black,  and  shaved  like  a 
cleric,  came  down  the  steps. 

"  Esteban  !  Esteban  !  "  cried  Luna,  placing  himself 
between  him  and  the  door  of  the  Presentacion. 

"  Wooden  Staff "  looked  at  him  with  his  clear  eyes 
like  amber,  the  quiet  eyes  of  a  man  used  to  spending 
long  hours  in  the  Cathedral,  with  never  a  rebellious 
thought  arising  to  disturb  his  immovable  beatitude.  He 
stood  doubting  for  some  time,  as  though  he  could 
scarcely  credit  the  remote  resemblance  in  this  thin,  pale 
face,  to  another  that  lived  in  his  memory,  but  at  last, 
with  a  pained  surprise,  he  became  convinced  of  its 
identity. 

**  Gabriel  !  my  brother  !  is  it  really  you  ?  " 

And  the  rigidly  set  face  of  the  Cathedral  servant, 
which  seemed  to  have  acquired  the  immobility  of  its 
pillars  and  statues,  relaxed  with  an  affectionate  smile. 

"When  did  you  come?  Where  have  you  been? 
What  is  your  life  ?     Why  have  you  come  ?  " 

"  Wooden  Staff"  expressed  his  surprise  by  incessant 
questions,  never  giving  his  brother  time  to  answer. 

Gabriel  at  length  explained,  that  he  had  arrived  the 
previous  night,  and  that  he  had  waited  outside  the 
church  since  early  dawn  in  the  hopes  of  seeing  his 
brother. 

"  I  have  now  come  from  Madrid,  but  before  that  I 
was  in  many  places  :  in  England,  in  France,  in  Belgium, 
who  knows  where  besides.  I  have  wandered  from  one 
town  to  another,  always  struggling  against  hunger  and 
the  cruelty  of  men.  My  footsteps  have  been  dogged 
by  poverty  and  the  police.     When  I  rest  a  little,  worn 

*  Wooden  staff. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  13 

out  by  this  Wandering  Jew's  existence,  Justice,  inspired 
by  fear,  orders  me  to  move  on,  and  so  once  again  I 
begin  my  march.  I  am  a  man  to  be  feared,  Esteban, 
even  as  you  now  see  me,  with  my  body  ruined  before 
old  age,  and  the  certainty  before  me  of  a  speedy  death. 
Again,  yesterday  in  Madrid,  they  told  me  I  should  be 
sent  once  more  to  prison  if  I  stayed  there  any  longer, 
and  so  in  the  evening  I  took  the  train.  Where  shall 
I  go  ?  The  world  is  wide  ;  but  for  me  and  other  rebels 
it  is  very  small,  and  narrows  till  it  does  not  leave  a 
hand's  breath  of  ground  for  our  feet.  In  all  the  world 
nothing  was  left  me  but  you,  and  this  peaceful  silent 
corner  where  you  live  so  happily,  and  so,  I  came  to 
seek  you.  If  you  turn  me  out,  nothing  will  be  left  me 
but  to  die  in  prison,  or  in  a  hospital,  if  indeed  they 
would  take  me  in  when  they  know  my  name." 

And  Gabriel,  spent  withhis  words,  coughed  painfully, 
a  hollow  cavernous  cough  that  seemed  to  tear  his  chest. 
He  expressed  himself  vehemently,  moving  his  arms 
freely,  with  the  gestures  of  a  man  used  to  speaking 
in  public,  burning  with  the  zeal  of  his  cause. 

"Ah!  brother,  brother!"  said  Esteban,  with  an 
accent  of  mild  reproof,  "  what  has  it  profited  you 
reading  so  many  books  and  newspapers  ?  What  is  the 
use  of  trying  to  disturb  and  upset  things  that  are  all 
right ;  and  if  they  are  all  wrong,  is  there  no  other 
means  of  righting  them  possible  ?  If  you  had  followed 
your  own  path  quietly,  you  would  have  been  a 
beneficiary  of  the  Cathedral,  and,  who  knows,  you 
might  have  had  a  seat  in  the  choir  among  the  canons, 
for  the  honour  and  profit  of  the  family  I  But  you  were 
always  wrong-headed,  although  you  were  the  cleverest 
of  us  all.  Cursed  talent  that  leads  to  such  misery ! 
What  I  have  suffered  brother  trying  to  hear  about  your 
affairs !     What  bitterness  have    I    not    gone    through 


14  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

since  you  last  came  here !  I  thought  you  were  con- 
tented and  happy  in  the  printing  office  in  Barcelona, 
receiving  a  salary  that  was  a  fortune  compared  to  what 
we  earn  here.  I  was  disturbed  at  reading  your  name  so 
often  in  the  papers,  at  those  meetings,  where  the 
division  of  everything  is  advocated,  the  death  of 
religion  and  of  the  family,  and  I  do  not  know  what 
follies  besides.  The  '  companion '  Luna  said  this,  or 
the  '  companion  '  Luna  has  done  the  other,  and  I  tried 
to  hide  from  the  people  of  the  '  household '  that  this 
*  companion  '  could  be  you,  guessing  that  such  madness 
must  turn  out  ill — furiously  ill — and  after — after  came 
the  affair  of  the  bombs." 

"  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  that,"  said  Gabriel  sadly. 
"  I  am  only  a  theorist ;  I  condemned  the  action  as 
premature  and  inefficacious." 

"  I  know  it,  Gabriel.  I  always  thought  you  inno- 
cent. You  so  good,  so  gentle,  who  since  you  were 
a  little  one  always  astonished  us  by  your  kindness; 
you  who  seemed  like  a  saint,  as  our  poor  mother  used 
to  say !  You  kill,  and  so  treacherously,  by  means 
of  such  infernal  artifices  !   Holy  Jesus  !  " 

And  the  "Wooden  Staff"  was  silent,  overcome  by 
the  recollection  of  those  attempts  that  had  overwhelmed 
his  brother. 

"  But  what  is  certain  is,"  he  continued  after  a  little, 
"  that  you  fell  into  the  trap  spread  by  the  Government 
after  those  affairs.  What  I  suffered  for  a  while !  Now 
and  again  I  heard  firing  in  the  castle  ditch  beyond 
there,  and  I  searched  anxiously  in  the  papers  for  the 
names  of  those  executed,  always  fearing  to  find  yours. 
There  were  rumours  current  of  horrible  tortures 
inflicted  on  those  taken  to  make  them  confess  the 
truth,  and  I  thought  of  you,  so  frail,  so  delicate,  and 
I   feared  that  some  day  you  would  be  found  dead  in 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  15 

a  dungeon.  And  I  suffered  even  more  from  my 
anxiety  that  no  one  here  should  know  of  your  situation; 
you  a  Luna !  a  son  of  Seiior  Esteban,  the  old  gardener 
of  the  Primate,  with  whom  all  the  canons  and  even 
the  archbishop  talked.  You  mixed  up  with  those 
infernal  scoundrels  who  wish  to  destroy  the  world. 
For  this  reason  when  Eusebio  the  '  Virgin's  Blue,' 
asked  me  if  you  could  possibly  be  the  Luna  of  whom 
he  read  in  the  papers,  I  replied  that  my  brother  was 
in  America,  that  I  heard  from  him  now  and  again, 
but  that  he  was  occupied  with  a  big  business — you 
see  what  pain  !  Fearing  from  one  moment  to  another 
that  they  would  kill  you,  unable  to  speak,  unable 
to  complain,  fearful  of  telling  my  distress  even  to  my 
family.  How  often  have  I  prayed  in  there  !  Accus- 
tomed as  we  of  the  '  household '  are  to  associate  daily 
with  God  and  the  saints,  we  may  be  a  little  hard  and 
narrow-minded,  but  misfortune  softens  the  heart,  and 
I  addressed  myself  to  Her  who  can  do  everything,  to  our 
patroness  the  Virgin  of  the  Sagrario,  begging  her  to  re- 
member you,  who  used  to  kneel  at  her  shrine  as  a  little 
child  when  you  were  preparing  to  enter  the  seminary." 

Gabriel  smiled  gently  as  though  admiring  the 
simplicity  of  his  brother. 

"  Do  not  laugh,  I  pray  you — your  smile  wounds 
me.  The  Divine  Lady  did  all  she  could  for  you. 
Months  afterwards  I  learnt  that  you  and  others  had 
been  put  on  board  ship  with  orders  never  to  return 
to  Spain,  and,  up  to  the  present  time,  never  a  letter 
or  a  scrap  of  news,  good  or  ill.  I  thought  you  had 
died,  Gabriel,  in  those  distant  lands,  and  more  than 
once  I  have  prayed  for  your  poor  soul,  that  I  am  sure 
wanted  it." 

The  "  companion  "  showed  in  his  eyes  his  gratitude 
for  these  words. 


i6  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Thanks,  Esteban.  I  admire  your  faith,  but  I  did 
not  come  out  of  that  dark  adventure  as  well  as  you 
imagine.  It  would  have  been  far  better  to  have  died. 
The  aureole  of  a  martyr  is  worth  more  than  to  enter 
a  dungeon  a  man  and  come  out  of  it  a  limp  rag.  I  am 
very  ill,  Esteban,  my  sentence  is  irrevocable.  I  have 
no  stomach  left,  my  lungs  are  gone,  and  this  body 
that  you  see  is  like  a  dislocated  machine  that  can 
hardly  move,  creaking  in  every  joint,  as  though  all 
the  bits  intended  to  fall  apart.  The  Virgin  who  saved 
me  at  your  recommendation  might  really  have  inter- 
ceded a  little  more  in  my  favour,  softening  my  jailors. 
Those  wretches  think  to  save  the  world  by  giving 
free  rein  to  those  wild  beast  instincts  that  slumber 
in  us  all,  relics  of  a  far-away  past.  Since  then,  at 
liberty,  life  has  been  more  painful  than  death.  On  my 
return  to  Spain,  pressed  by  poverty  and  persecution, 
my  life  has  been  a  hell.  I  dare  stop  in  no  place  where 
men  congregate  ;  they  hunt  me  like  dogs,  forcing  me 
to  live  out  of  the  towns,  driving  me  to  the  mountains, 
into  the  deserts,  where  no  human  beings  live.  It 
appears  I  am  still  a  man  to  be  feared,  more  to  be 
feared  than  those  desperadoes  who  throw  bombs, 
because  I  can  speak,  because  I  carry  in  me  an  irre- 
sistible strength  which  forces  me  to  preach  the  Truth 
if  I  find  myself  in  the  presence  of  miserable  and 
trodden-down  wretches — but  all  this  is  coming  to  an 
end.  You  may  be  easy,  brother,  I  am  a  dead  man ; 
my  mission  is  drawing  to  a  close,  but  others  will  come 
after  me,  and  again  others.  The  furrow  is  open  and 
the  seed  is  in  its  bowels — 'germinal!'^  as  a  friend 
of  my  exile  shouted  as  he  saw  the  last  rays  of  the 
setting  sun  from  the  scaffold  of  the  gibbet.  I  am 
dying,  and  I  think  I   have  the  right  to  rest  for  a  few 

>  "It  will  sprout." 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  17 

months.  I  wish  to  enjoy  for  the  first  time  in  my  life 
the  sweets  of  silence,  of  absolute  quiet,  of  incognito;  to 
be  no  one,  for  no  one  to  know  me ;  to  inspire  neither 
sympathy  nor  fear.  I  should  wish  to  be  as  a  statue 
on  the  doorway,  as  a  pillar  in  the  Cathedral,  immovable, 
over  whose  surface  centuries  have  glided  without 
leaving  the  slightest  trace  or  emotion.  To  wait  for 
death  as  a  body  that  eats  or  breathes,  but  cannot  think 
or  suffer,  nor  feel  enthusiasm ;  this  to  me  would  be 
happiness,  brother.  I  do  not  know  where  to  go ;  men 
are  waiting  for  me  out  beyond  these  doors  to  drive  me 
on  again.     Will  you  let  me  stay  with   you  ?  " 

For  all  answer  the  "  Wooden  Staff"  laid  his  hand 
affectionately  on  Gabriel's  arm. 

"  Let  us  come  upstairs,  madman — you  shall  not  die, 
I  will  nurse  you  ;  what  you  want  is  care  and  quiet. 
We  will  cure  that  hot  head,  which  seems  like  that  of 
Don  Quixote.  Do  you  remember  when  you  were  a 
child  reading  us  his  history  in  the  long  evenings  ?  Go 
along,  dreamer,  what  does  it  signify  to  you  if  the  world 
is  better  or  worse  regulated  ?  As  we  found  it,  so  it  has 
always  been.  What  does  signify  is  that  we  should  live 
like  Christians,  with  the  certainty  that  the  other  life 
will  be  a  better  one,  as  it  will  be  the  work  of  God  and 
not  of  man.     Go  up — let  us  go  up." 

And  taking  hold  of  the  vagabond  affectionately, 
they  passed  out  of  the  cloister  through  the  beggars, 
who  had  followed  the  interview  with  curious  eyes, 
without,  however,  being  able  to  hear  a  single  word. 
They  crossed  the  street  and  entered  the  staircase  of  the 
tower.  The  steps  were  of  red  brick,  worn  and  broken  ; 
the  whitewashed  walls  were  covered  on  all  sides  with 
grotesque  drawings  and  various  inscriptions,  scrawled 
by  those  who  had  ascended  the  tower,  attracted  by  the 
fame  of  the  big  bell. 

c.  c 


i8  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Gabriel  went  up  slowly,  gasping,  and  stopping  at 
every  step. 

**  I  am  ill,  Esteban,  very  ill ;  these  bellows  let  out 
the  wind  in  every  part." 

Then,  as  though  repenting  his  forgetfulness,  he 
suddenly  asked : 

"  And  Pepa,  your  wife  ?     I  hope  she  is  all  right." 

The  brows  of  the  Cathedral  servant  contracted,  and 
his  eyes  became  bright  as  though  full  of  tears. 

"  She  died,"  he  said  with  laconic  sadness. 

Gabriel  stopped  suddenly,  clinging  to  the  handrail, 
struck  with  surprise  ;  then,  after  a  short  silence,  he  went 
on,  wishing  to  console  his  brother. 

"  But,  Sagrario,  my  niece,  she  must  have  grown  a 
beauty.  The  last  time  I  saw  her  she  looked  like  a 
queen,  with  her  crown  of  auburn  hair  and  her  smiling 
face,  with  its  golden  bloom,  like  a  ripe  apricot.  Did  she 
marry  the  cadet,  or  is  she  still  with  you  ?  " 

The  "  Wooden  Staff"  appeared  even  more  sad,  and  he 
looked  grimly  at  his  brother. 

"  She  also  died,"  he  said  drily. 

"  Sagrario  also  dead  !  "  exclaimed  Gabriel  astounded. 

"  She  is  dead  to  me,  which  is  the  same  thing. 
Brother,  by  all  you  love  best  in  the  world,  do  not  speak 
to  me  of  her." 

Gabriel  understood  that  he  had  opened  some  deep 
wound  by  his  inquiries,  and  so  said  no  more,  beginning 
once  more  his  ascent.  During  his  absence  a  terrible 
event  had  happened  in  his  brother's  life — one  of  those 
events  that  break  up  a  family  and  separate  for  ever 
those  that  survive. 

They  crossed  the  gallery  covered  by  the  archbishop's 
archway  and  entered  the  upper  cloister  called  **  the 
Claverias  " :  four  arcades  of  equal  length  to  those  of  the 
lower  cloister,  but  quite  bare  of  decoration,  and  with  a 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  19 

poverty-stricken  aspect.  The  pavement  was  chipped 
and  broken,  the  four  sides  had  a  balustrade  running 
round  between  the  flat  pillars  that  supported  the  old 
beams  of  the  roof.  It  had  been  a  provisional  work 
three  hundred  years  ago,  and  had  always  remained  in 
the  same  state.  All  along  the  whitewashed  walls,  the 
doors  and  windows  belonging  to  the  "  habitacions  "  of 
the  Cathedral  servants  opened  without  order  or  sym- 
metry. These  were  transmitted  with  the  office  from 
father  to  son.  The  cloister,  with  its  low  arcade,  looked 
like  a  street  having  houses  on  one  side  only ;  opposite 
was  the  flat  colonnade  with  its  balustrade,  against 
which  the  pointed  branches  of  the  cypresses  in  the 
garden  rested.  Above  the  roof  of  the  cloister  could  be 
seen  the  windows  of  another  row  of  "habitacions,"  for 
nearly  all  the  dwellings  in  the  Claverias  had  two  stories. 

It  was  the  population  of  a  whole  town  that  lived 
above  the  Cathedral,  on  a  level  with  its  roofs  ;  and 
when  night  fell,  and  the  staircase  of  the  tower  was 
locked,  it  remained  quite  isolated  from  the  city.  This 
semi-ecclesiastical  tribe  was  born  and  died  in  the  very 
heart  of  Toledo  without  ever  going  down  into  the 
streets,  clinging  with  traditional  instinct  to  the  carved 
mountain  of  stone,  whose  arches  served  it  as  a  refuge. 
They  lived  saturated  with  the  scent  of  incense,  breath- 
ing the  peculiar  smell  of  mould  and  old  iron  belonging 
to  ancient  buildings,  and  with  no  more  horizon  than 
the  arches  of  the  bell  tower,  whose  height  soared  into 
the  small  patch  of  blue  sky  visible  from  the  cloister. 

The  "  companion  "  Luna  thought  he  was  returning 
with  one  step  to  the  days  of  his  childhood.  Little 
children  like  the  Gabriel  of  former  days  were  playing 
about  the  four  galleries,  and  sitting  in  that  part  of  the 
cloister  bathed  by  the  first  rays  of  the  sun.  Women, 
who  reminded  him  of  his  mother,  were  shaking  the 

c  2 


20  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

bedclothes  out  over  the  garden,  or  sweeping  the  red 
bricks  opposite  their  dwelhngs  ;  everything  seemed  the 
same.  Time  had  left  it  quite  alone,  evidently  thinking 
there  was  nothing  there  that  he  could  possibly  age. 
The  "  companion  "  could  now  see  two  sketches  of  lay 
brothers  that  he  had  drawn  with  charcoal  when  he  was 
eight  years  old  ;  had  it  not  been  for  the  children  one 
might  have  thought  that  life  had  been  suspended  in 
that  corner  of  the  Cathedral,  as  though  this  aerial 
population  could  neither  be  born  nor  die. 

The  "  Wooden  Staff,"  frowning  and  gloomy  since 
the  last  words  were  spoken,  tried  to  give  some  explana- 
tion to  his  brother. 

"  I  live  in  our  same  old  house.  They  left  it  to  me 
out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  my  father.  I  am 
grateful  to  the  clergy  of  the  Chapter,  taking  into  con- 
sideration that  I  am  nothing  but  a  sad  old  *  Wooden 
Staff.'  Since  my  misfortune  happened  I  have  had  an 
old  woman  to  keep  house,  and  Don  Luis,  the  Chapel- 
master,  lives  with  me.  You  will  come  to  know  him,  a 
young  priest  of  great  talent,  but  quite  hidden  here :  one 
of  God's  souls,  whom  they  think  crazy  in  the  Cathedral, 
but  who  lives  like  an  angel." 

They  entered  into  the  house  of  the  Lunas,  which 
was  one  of  the  best  in  the  Claverias.  By  the  door  two 
rows  of  flower  vases  in  the  shape  of  a  clock-case 
fastened  to  the  walls  were  filled  with  hanging  plants  ; 
inside,  in  the  sitting  room,  Gabriel  found  everything 
the  same  as  during  his  father's  lifetime.  The  white 
walls  that  with  years  had  become  like  ivory,  were  still 
decorated  with  the  old  engravings  of  saints,  the  chairs 
of  mahogany,  bright  with  constant  rubbing,  looked  like 
new,  in  spite  of  their  curves,  which  showed  them  to 
belong  to  a  previous  century,  and  their  seats  almost 
ready  to  drop  through.     Through  a  half-open  door  he 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL    21 

could  see  into  the  kitchen,  where  his  brother  had  gone 
to  give  some  orders  to  a  timid-looking  old  woman.  In 
one  corner  of  the  room,  half  hidden,  was  a  sewing 
machine.  Luna  had  seen  his  niece  working  at  it  the 
last  time  he  came  to  the  Cathedral.  It  was  the  perma- 
nent remembrance  the  "  little  one  "  had  left  behind  her 
after  that  catastrophe  which  had  filled  her  father  with 
such  gloomy  sadness.  Through  a  back  window  of  the 
room  Gabriel  could  see  the  inner  court,  which  made 
this  "  habitacion  "  one  of  the  most  charming  in  the 
Claverias,  the  open  expanse  of  sky,  and  the  upper 
rooms  on  all  four  sides,  supported  by  rows  of  slender 
pillars,  that  made  the  courtyard  look  like  a  little 
cloister. 

Esteban  came  back  and  rejoined  his  brother. 

"  You  must  say  what  you  would  like  for  breakfast. 
It  would  soon  be  ready  ;  ask,  man,  ask  for  what  you 
want,  for  though  I  am  poor  I  shall  take  little  credit  to 
myself  unless  I  can  make  you  pick  up  a  little  and  lose 
that  look  of  a  resuscitated  corpse." 

Gabriel  smiled  sadly. 

"  It  is  useless  your  troubling  ;  my  stomach  is  quite 
gone ;  a  little  milk  is  enough  for  it,  and  I  am  thankful 
if  it  retains  it." 

Esteban  ordered  the  old  woman  to  go  into  the  town 
in  search  of  the  milk,  and  he  had  hardly  seated  himself 
by  his  brother's  side  when  the  door  giving  into  the 
cloister  opened,  and  the  head  of  a  young  man  appeared. 

"  Good-day,  uncle  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

His  face  was  unhealthy  and  currish,  the  eyes  were 
malicious,  and  above  his  ears  were  combed  two  large 
tufts  of  glossy  hair. 

"  Come  in,  vagabond,  come  in,"  said  the  "  Wooden 
Staff." 

And  he  added,  turning  to  his  brother : 


22  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Do  you  know  who  this  is  ?  No  ?  It  is  the  son  of 
our  poor  brother,  whom  God  has  taken  to  his  glory. 
He  lives  in  the  upper  dwellings  of  the  cloister  with  his 
mother,  who  washes  the  linen  of  the  choir,  and  of  the 
the  sefiores  canons  ;  and  it  is  a  delight  to  see  how  she 
crimps  the  surplices.  Thomas,  lad,  bow  to  the  gentle- 
man ;  it  is  your  uncle  Gabriel,  who  has  just  arrived 
from  America,  and  from  Paris,  and  I  don't  know  from 
where  else  besides  !  From  very  far  off  countries,  very 
far  off." 

The  young  man  saluted  Gabriel,  though  he  seemed 
rather  scared  by  the  sad  and  suffering  face  of  their 
relative,  whom  he  had  heard  his  mother  speak  of  as  a 
mysterious  and  romantic  being. 

"  Here,  as  you  see  him,"  proceeded  Esteban,  speaking 
to  his  brother,  and  pointing  to  his  nephew,  "he  is  the 
worst  lot  in  the  Cathedral.  The  Seiior  Obrero^  would 
more  than  once  have  turned  him  out  into  the  street, 
were  it  not  for  respect  to  the  memory  of  his  father  and 
grandfather,  and  also  to  the  name  he  bears,  for  every- 
body knows  the  Lunas  are  as  ancient  in  the  Cathedral 
as  the  stones  in  its  walls.  No  escapade  enters  his  head 
but  he  hastens  to  carry  it  out,  and  he  swears  like  a 
pagan  even  in  full  sacristy,  under  the  very  noses  of  the 
beneficiaries.     Don't  dare  to  deny  it !     Grumbler  !  " 

And  he  shook  his  fist  at  the  lad,  half  severely,  half 
smiling,  as  though  in  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  felt 
some  pride  in  his  nephew's  scrapes,  who  received  his 
reprimand  with  grimaces  that  made  his  face  twitch 
like  that  of  a  monkey,  while  his  eyes  retained  their 
fixed  and  insolent  stare. 

"  It  is  a  real  shame,"  continued  the  uncle,  *'  that  you 
should  comb  your  hair  in  that  fashion,  like  the  Merry 

*  Canon  in  charge  of  the  fabric. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  23 

Andrews  that  come  to  Toledo  from  the  Court  on  great 
festivals.  In  the  good  old  times  of  the  Cathedral  they 
would  have  shaved  your  head  for  you.  But  in  these 
days  of  alienation,  of  universal  licence  and  misfortunes, 
our  holy  church  is  as  poor  as  a  rat,  and  poverty  does 
does  not  give  the  sefiores  canons  much  inclination  to 
examine  details.  It  is  a  grievous  pity  to  see  how  every- 
thing is  going  down.  What  desolation,  Gabriel  !  If 
you  could  only  see  it !  The  Cathedral  is  as  beautiful  as 
ever,  but  we  do  not  now  see  the  former  beauty  of  the 
Lord's  worship.  The  Chapel-master  says  the  same 
thing,  and  he  is  indignant  to  see  that  on  great  festivals 
only  about  half-a-dozen  musicians  take  their  place  in 
the  middle  of  the  choir.  The  young  people  who  live  in 
the  Claverias  have  not  our  great  love  for  the  mother- 
church  ;  they  complain  of  the  shortness  of  their  salaries 
without  considering  that  it  is  the  temporalities  that 
support  religion.  If  this  goes  on  I  should  not  be  sur- 
prised to  see  this  popinjay  and  other  rascals  like  him 
playing  at  *  Rayuelo  '  ^  in  the  crossways  in  front  of  the 
choir.     May  God  forgive  me !  " 

And  the  simple  "  Wooden  Staff"  made  a  gesture  as 
though  scandalised  at  his  own  words.     He  went  on  : 

"  This  young  fellow  you  see  here  is  not  satisfied  with 
his  position  in  life,  and  yet,  though  he  is  only  a  youth, 
he  occupies  the  place  his  poor  father  could  only  attain 
to  after  thirty  years'  service.  He  aspires  to  be  a 
toreador,  and  often  on  a  Sunday  he  dares  to  take  part 
in  the  bull-fight  in  the  bull-ring  of  Toledo.  His  mother 
came  down,  dishevelled  like  a  Magdalen,  to  tell  me  all 
about  it,  and  I,  thinking  that  as  his  father  was  dead  I 
ought  to  act  in  his  place,  I  watched  for  ourgentleman  as 
he  returned  tricked  out  smartly  from  the  bull- ring,  and 

'  A  game  of  drawing  lines. 


24  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

I  thrashed  him  up  the  tower  staircase  to  his  rooms  with 
the  same  wooden  staff  that  I  use  in  the  Cathedral,  and  he 
can  tell  you  if  I  have  not  a  heavy  hand  when  I  am  angry. 
Virgin  of  the  Sagrario  !  A  Luna  of  the  Holy  Metro- 
politan Church  lowering  himself  to  be  a  bull-fighter ! 
The  canons  did  laugh,  and  even  the  Lord  Cardinal 
himself,  as  I  have  been  told,  when  they  heard  about  the 
affair  !  A  witty  beneficiary  has  since  nick-named  him  the 
'  Tato,'  ^  and  so  they  all  call  him  now  in  the  Cathedral. 
So  you  see,  brother,  how  much  respect  this  rascal  pays 
to  his  family." 

The  "  Silenciario "  ^  attempted  to  annihilate  the 
"  Tato  "  with  his  glance,  but  this  latter  only  smiled 
without  paying  much  attention,  either  to  his  uncle's 
words  or  looks. 

"  You  would  hardly  believe,  Gabriel,"  he  continued, 

"  that  this  creature  often  wants  a  bit  of  bread,  and  it  is 

for  this  reason  he  commits  all  these  follies.     In  spite  of 

his  wrongheadedness,   since  the  age  of  twenty  he  has 

occupied  the  position  of  '  Perrero  '  ^  in  the  holy  church, 

he  has  obtained  what  in  better  times  only  those  could 

obtain  who  had  served  well  and  striven  hard  for  years. 

He  gets  his  six  reals  a  day,  and  as  he  can  go  freely  about 

the  church  he  can  show  the  curiosities  to  strangers  ;  and 

so  with  the  salary  and  the  tips  he  gets,  he  is  much  better 

off  than  I  am.     The  foreigners  who  visit  the  Cathedral, 

excommunicated  people  who  look  upon  us  as  strange 

monkeys,  and  who  think  that  anything  interesting  of 

ours  is  only  worthy  of  a  laugh,  take  a  fancy  to  him. 

The  English  ask  him  if  he  is  a  toreador,  and  he — what 

does  he  want  better  than  that  !     When  he  sees  they 

pay  him  according  as  he  pleases  them,  he  brings  out  his 

'   7'aio — Armadillo. 

2  Silenciario — Officer  appointed  to  keep  silence. 
^  Perrero — Beadle  whose  special  duty  it  is  to  chase  the  dogs  out 
of  church, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  25 

pack  of  lies,  for,  unfortunately,  no  one  has  any  check  on 
the  deceit,  and  he  tells  them  about  all  the  great  bull- 
fights in  which  he  has  taken  part  in  Toledo,  and  all 
about  the  bulls  he  has  killed ;  and  these  blockheads  from 
England  make  a  note  of  it  in  their  albums,  and  even 
some  coarse  hand  may  make  a  sketch  of  this  imposter's 
head ;  all  he  cares  for  is  that  they  should  believe  all  his 
lies  and  give  him  a  peseta  on  leaving.  It  matters  very 
little  to  him,  if  when  these  heretics  return  to  their  own 
country  they  spread  the  report  that  in  Toledo,  in  the 
Holy  Metropolitan  Church  of  all  Spain,  the  Cathedral 
servants  are  bull-fighters,  and  assist  in  the  ceremonies 
of  worship  between  the  bull  runs.  The  sum  total  is,  that 
he  earns  more  than  I  do,  but  in  spite  of  this  he  con- 
siders his  employment  beneath  him.  And  such  beautiful 
duties,  too.  To  walk  in  the  great  processions  before 
everyone,  close  to  the  Primate's  great  banner,  with  a 
staff  covered  with  red  velvet  to  support  him  should  he 
chance  to  fall,  and  wearing  a  robe  of  scarlet  brocade 
like  a  cardinal.  Our  Chapel-master,  who  knows  a  great 
deal  about  such  things,  says  that  when  he  wears  that 
robe  he  looks  like  a  certain  Diente,  or  some  name  of  the 
sort,  who  lived  hundreds  of  years  ago  in  Italy,  and 
went  down  into  hell,  and  afterwards  described  his 
journey  in  poetry." 

Sounds  of  footsteps  were  heard  on  the  narrow  circular 
staircase  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  that  led  from  the 
sitting-room  to  the  storey  above. 

"  It  is  Don  Luis,"  said  the  "Wooden  Staff,"  "he  is 
going  to  say  his  mass  in  the  chapel  of  the  Sagrario, 
and  afterwards  to  the  choir." 

Gabriel  rose  from  his  sofa  to  salute  the  priest.  He  was 
feeble  and  small  of  stature,  but  the  thing  about  him 
that  struck  you  at  first  sight  was  the  disproportion 
between    his  shrunken    body  and  his  immense  head. 


26  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  forehead,  round  and  prominent,  seemed  to  crush 
with  its  weight  the  dark  and  irregular  features,  much 
pitted  by  smallpox.  He  was  very  ugly,  but  still  the 
expression  of  his  blue  eyes,  the  brilliancy  of  his  white 
and  regular  teeth,  and  the  ingenuous  smile,  almost 
childlike,  that  played  on  his  lips,  gave  his  face  that 
sympathetic  expression  which  showed  him  to  be  one  of 
those  simple  souls  wrapped  up  in  their  artistic  fancies. 

**  And  so  this  gentleman  is  the  brother  of  whom  you 
have  spoken  to  me  so  often,"  said  he,  hearing  the 
introduction  made  by  Esteban. 

He  held  out  his  hand  in  a  friendly  way  to  Gabriel. 
They  both  looked  very  sickly,  but  their  bodily  infirmities 
seemed  to  be  a  bond  of  attraction. 

"  As  the  seilor  has  studied  in  the  seminary,"  said  the 
Chapel-master,  "he  will  know  something  about  music." 

"  It  is  the  only  thing  that  I  remember  of  all  those 
studies." 

"  But  having  travelled  so  much  all  over  the  world, 
you  must  have  heard  a  great  deal  of  good  music." 

"  That  is  so.  Music  is  to  me  the  most  pleasing  of 
all  the  arts.    I  do  not  know  much  about  it,  but  I  feel  it." 

"  Very  well,  very  well,  we  shall  be  good  friends. 
You  must  tell  me  all  sorts  of  things ;  how  I  envy  you 
having  travelled  so  much." 

He  spoke  like  a  restless  child,  without  sitting  down. 
Although  the  "Silenciario"  offered  him  a  chair  at  each 
of  his  flittings  round  the  room,  he  wandered  from  side 
to  side  in  his  shabby  cloak,  his  hat  in  his  hand — a  poor 
worn-out  hat  with  not  a  trace  of  pile  left,  knocked  in, 
with  a  layer  of  grease  on  its  flaps,  miserable  and  old, 
like  the  cassock  and  the  shoes.  But  in  spite  of  this 
poverty  the  Chapel-master  had  a  certain  refinement 
about  him.  His  hair,  rather  too  long  for  his 
ecclesiastical  dress,  curled  round  his  temples,  and  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  27 

dignified  way  in  which  he  folded  his  cloak  round  his 
body  reminded  one  of  the  cloak  of  a  tenor  at  the 
opera.  He  had  a  sort  of  easy  grace  that  betrayed  the 
artist  who,  under  the  priestly  robes,  was  longing  to  get 
rid  of  them,  leaving  them  at  his  feet  like  a  winding 
sheet. 

Some  deep  notes  from  the  bell,  like  distant  thunder, 
floated  into  the  room  through  the  cloister. 

"  Uncle,  they  are  calling  us  to  the  choir,"  said  the 
"Tato."  "We  ought  to  have  been  in  the  Cathedral 
before  now  ;   it  is  nearly  eight  o'clock." 

"  It  is  true,  lad.  I  am  glad  you  were  here  to  remind 
me ;  let  us  be  going." 

Then  he  added,  speaking  to  the  musical  priest : 

**  Don  Luis,  your  mass  is  at  eight  o'clock.  You  can 
talk  with  Gabriel  later  on;  now  we  must  fulfil  our 
obligations,  for  those  who  are  late  will,  as  you  say,  be 
turned  out,  even  though  our  office  hardly  gives  us 
enough  to  eat." 

The  Chapel-master  assented  sadly  with  a  movement 
of  his  head,  and  went  out,  following  the  two  Cathedral 
servants.  He  seemed  to  go  unwillingly,  as  though  forced 
to  a  task  that  was  to  him  both  irksome  and  painful. 
He  hummed  absently  while  giving  his  hand  to  Gabriel, 
who  thought  he  recognised  a  fragment  of  Beethoven's 
Seventh  Symphony  in  the  low  and  uneven  tones  that 
came  from  the  lips  of  the  young  priest. 

Now  that  he  was  alone  Luna  stretched  himself  on 
the  sofa,  giving  himself  up  to  the  fatigue  he  felt  from 
his  long  wait  before  the  Cathedral.  His  brother's  old 
servant  placed  a  little  pitcher  of  milk  by  his  side,  and 
filling  a  cup,  Gabriel  drank,  endeavouring  to  overcome 
the  repugnance  of  his  weak  stomach,  which  almost 
refused  to  retain  the  liquid.  His  body,  fatigued  by  his 
restless   night   and    the    long   morning    wait,    at    last 


28  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

assimilated  the  nourishment,  and  a  soft,  dreamy  languor 
spread  over  him  that  he  had  not  felt  for  a  long  time. 
He  soon  fell  asleep,  remaining  for  more  than  an  hour 
motionless  on  the  sofa,  and  though  his  breathing  was 
disturbed,  and  his  chest  racked  by  his  hollow  cough, 
they  were  unable  to  wake  him  from  his  slumber. 

When  he  did  awake,  it  was  suddenly,  with  a  nervous 
start  that  shook  him  from  head  to  foot,  making  him 
bound  from  the  sofa  as  though  a  spring  had  been 
touched.  It  was  the  wariness  produced  by  his  ever 
present  danger,  that  had  become  habitual  to  him ;  the 
habit  of  restlessness  formed  in  dark  dungeons,  expecting 
hourly  to  see  the  door  open,  to  be  beaten  like  a  dog,  or 
led  off  between  a  double  file  of  muskets  to  the  square 
of  execution;  the  habit  of  living  perpetually  watched,  of 
feeling  in  every  country  the  espionage  of  the  police 
around  him,  the  habit  of  being  awoke  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  in  his  wretched  room  in  some  inn  by  the 
order  to  leave  at  once;  the  unrest  of  the  ancient 
Asheverus,  who,  as  soon  as  he  could  enjoy  a  moment's 
rest,  heard  the  eternal  cry — "  Go  on.    Go  on." 

He  did  not  try  to  sleep  again,  he  preferred  the  present 
reality,  the  silence  of  the  Cathedral  which  was  to  him 
as  a  gentle  caress,  the  noble  calm  of  the  temple,  that 
immense  pile  of  worked  stone,  which  seemed  to  press 
on  him,  enveloping  him,  hiding  for  ever  his  weakness 
and  his  persecutions. 

He  went  out  into  the  cloister,  and,  resting  his  elbows 
on  the  balustrade,  looked  down  into  the  garden. 

The  Claverias  seemed  quite  deserted.  The  children 
who  had  enlivened  them  in  the  early  morning  had  gone 
to  school,  the  women  were  inside  their  houses  preparing 
their  mid-day  meal,  there  seemed  to  be  no  one  in  the 
cloister  except  himself;  the  sunlight  bathed  all  one  side, 
and  the  shadow  of  the  pillars  cut  obliquely  the  great 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  29 

golden  spaces  flooding  the  pavement.  The  majestic 
silence,  the  holy  calm  of  the  Cathedral  overpowered 
the  agitator  like  a  gentle  narcotic.  The  seven  centuries 
surrounding  those  stones  seemed  to  him  like  so  many 
veils  hiding  him  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  In  one  of 
the  dwellings  of  the  Claverias  you  could  hear  the 
incessant  tap,  tap,  of  a  hammer ;  it  was  that  of  a  shoe- 
maker whom  Gabriel  had  seen  through  the  window- 
panes,  bending  over  his  bench.  In  the  square  of  sky 
framed  by  the  roofs  some  pigeons  were  flying,  lazily 
moving  their  wings,  soaring  in  the  vault  of  intense  blue; 
some  flew  down  into  the  cloister,  and,  perching  on  the 
balustrade,  broke  the  religious  silence  with  their  gentle 
cooing ;  now  and  again  the  heavy  door-curtains  of  the 
church  were  lifted,  and  a  breath  of  air  charged  with 
incense  floated  over  the  garden  of  the  Claverias,  together 
with  the  deep  notes  of  the  organ,  and  the  sound  of 
voices  chanting  Latin  words  and  solemnly  prolonging 
the  cadences. 

Gabriel  looked  at  the  garden  surrounded  by  its  arcades 
of  white  stone,  with  its  rough  buttresses  of  dark  granite, 
in  the  chinks  of  which  the  rain  had  left  an  efflorescence 
of  fungus,  like  little  tufts  of  black  velvet.  The  sun 
struck  on  one  angle  of  the  garden,  leaving  the  rest  in 
cool  green  shade,  a  conventual  twilight.  The  bell- 
tower  hid  one  portion  of  the  sky,  displaying  on  its 
reddish  sides,  ornamented  with  Gothic  tracery  and 
salient  buttresses,  the  fillets  of  black  marble  with  heads 
of  mysterious  personages,  and  the  shields  with  the  arms 
of  the  different  archbishops  who  had  assisted  at  its 
building;  above,  near  the  pinnacles  of  white  stone,  were 
seen  the  bells  behind  enormous  gratings ;  from  below 
they  looked  like  three  bronze  birds  in  a  cage  of  iron. 

Three  deep  strokes  from  a  bell,  echoing  round  the 
Cathedral,  announced  that  the  High  Mass  had  arrived 


30  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

at  its  most  solemn  moment,  the  mountain  of  stone 
seemed  to  tremble  with  the  vibration,  which  was  trans- 
mitted through  the  naves  and  galleries,  to  the  arcades 
and  down  to  the  lowest  foundations. 

Again  there  was  silence,  which  seemed  even  deeper 
after  the  bronze  thunders  ;  the  cooing  of  the  pigeons 
could  again  be  heard,  and,  down  in  the  garden,  the 
twittering  of  the  birds,  warmed  by  the  sun's  rays  that 
began  to  gild  its  cool  twilight. 

Gabriel  felt  himself  deeply  moved;  the  sweet  silence, 
the  absolute  calm,  the  feeling  almost  of  non-existence 
overpowered  him ;  and  beyond  those  walls  was  the 
world,  but  here  it  could  not  be  seen,  it  could  not  be  felt ; 
it  remained  respectful  but  indifferent  before  that  monu- 
ment of  the  past,  that  splendid  sepulchre,  in  whose 
interior  nothing  excited  its  curiosity.  Who  would  ever 
imagine  he  was  there?  That  growth  of  seven  centuries, 
built  by  vanished  greatness  for  a  dying  faith,  should  be 
his  last  refuge.  In  the  full  tide  of  unbelief  the  church 
should  be  his  sanctuary,  as  it  had  been  in  former  days 
to  those  great  criminals  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who,  from 
the  height  of  the  cloister  mocked  at  justice,  detained 
at  the  doors  like  the  beggars.  Here  should  be  con- 
summated in  silence  and  calm  the  slow  decay  of  his 
body,  here  he  would  die  with  the  serene  satisfaction  of 
having  died  to  the  world  long  before.  At  last  he 
realised  his  hope  of  ending  his  days  in  a  corner  of  the 
sleepy  Spanish  Cathedral,  the  only  hope  that  had  sus- 
tained him  as  he  wandered  on  foot  along  the  highways 
of  Europe,  hiding  himself  from  the  civil  guards  and 
the  police,  spending  his  nights  in  ditches,  huddled  up, 
his  head  on  his  knees,  fearing  every  moment  to  die  of 
cold. 

He  clung  to  the  Cathedral  as  a  shipwrecked  and 
drowning  man  clings  to  the  spar  of  a  sinking  ship;  this 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  31 

had  been  his  hope,  and  he  was  beginning  to  realise  it. 
The  church  would  receive  him,  like  an  old  and  infirm 
mother,  unable  to  smile,  but  who  could  still  stretch  out 
her  arms. 

"  At  last !     At  last !  "  murmured  Luna. 

And  he  smiled,  thinking  of  the  world  of  sorrows  and 
persecutions  that  he  was  leaving  behind  him,  as  though 
he  were  going  to  some  remote  place,  situated  in  another 
planet,  from  which  he  would  never  return;  the  Cathedral 
would  shelter  him  for  ever. 

In  the  profound  stillness  of  the  cloister,  that  the 
sound  of  the  street  could  not  reach,  the  "companion" 
Luna  thought  he  heard  far  off,  very  far  off,  the  shrill 
sound  of  a  trumpet  and  the  muffled  roll  of  drums,  then 
he  remembered  the  Alcazar  of  Toledo,  dominating  the 
Cathedral  from  its  height,  intimidating  it  with  the 
enormous  mass  of  its  towers ;  they  were  the  drums  and 
trumpets  of  the  Military  Academy. 

These  sounds  were  painful  to  Gabriel;  the  world  had. 
faded  from  his  sight,  and  when  he  thought  himself  so 
very  far  from  it,  he  could  still  feel  its  presence  only  a 
little  way  beyond  the  roof  of  the  temple. 


CHAPTER  II 

Since  the  times  of  the  second  Cardinal  de  Bourbon 
Senor  Esteban  Luna  had  been  gardener  of  the  Cathedral, 
by  the  right  that  seemed  firmly  established  in  his  family. 
Who  was  the  first  Luna  that  entered  the  service  of  the 
Holy  Metropolitan  Church  ?  As  the  gardener  asked 
himself  this  question  he  smiled  complacently,  raising 
his  eyes  to  heaven,  as  though  he  would  inquire  of  the 
immensity  of  space.  The  Lunas  were  as  ancient  as  the 
foundations  of  the  church  ;  a  great  many  generations 
had  been  born  in  the  abode  in  the  upper  cloister,  and 
even  before  the  illustrious  Cisneros  built  the  Claverias 
the  Lunas  had  lived  in  houses  adjacent,  as  though  they 
could  not  exist  out  of  the  shadow  of  the  Primacy.  To 
no  one  did  the  Cathedral  belong  with  better  right  than 
to  them.  Canons,  beneficiaries,  archbishops  passed; 
they  gained  the  appointment,  died,  and  others  came  in 
their  places.  It  was  a  constant  procession  of  new  faces, 
of  masters  who  came  from  every  corner  of  Spain  to 
take  their  seats  in  the  choir,  to  die  a  few  years  after- 
wards, leaving  the  vacancies  to  be  filled  again  by  other 
newcomers ;  but  the  Lunas  always  remained  at  their 
post,  as  though  the  ancient  family  were  another  column 
of  the  many  that  supported  the  temple.  It  might 
happen  that  the  archbishop  who  to-day  was  called 
Don  Bernardo,  might  next  year  be  called  Don  Caspar, 
or  again  another  Don  Fernando.  But  what  seemed 
utterly  impossible  was  that  the  Cathedral  could  exist 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  33 

without  Lunas  in  the  garden,  in  the  sacristy,  or  in  the 
crossways  of  the  choir,  accustomed  as  it  had  been  for 
centuries  to  their  services. 

The  gardener  spoke  with  pride  of  his  descent,  of  his 
noble  and  unfortunate  relative  the  constable  Don  Alvaro, 
buried  like  a  king  in  his  chapel  behind  the  high  altar ; 
of  the  Pope  Benedict  XHL,  proud  and  obstinate  like 
all  the  rest  of  his  family ;  of  Don  Pedro  de  Luna,  fifth 
of  his  name  to  occupy  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of 
Toledo,  and  of  other  relatives  not  less  distinguished. 

"  We  are  all  from  the  same  stem,"  he  said  with 
pride.  "  We  all  came  to  the  conquest  of  Toledo  with 
the  good  King  Alfonso  VL  The  only  difference  has 
been,  that  some  Lunas  took  a  fancy  to  go  and  fight  the 
Moors,  and  they  became  lords,  and  conquered  castles, 
whereas  my  ancestors  remained  in  the  service  of  the 
Cathedral,  like  the  good  Christians  they  were." 

With  the  satisfaction  of  a  duke  who  enumerates  his 
ancestors,  the  Senor  Esteban  carried  back  the  line  of 
the  Lunas  till  it  became  misty  and  was  lost  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  His  father  had  known  Don  Fran- 
cisco HL  Lorenzana,  a  magnificent  and  prodigal  prince 
of  the  church,  who  spent  the  abundant  revenues  of  the 
archbishopric  in  building  palaces  and  editing  books, 
like  a  great  lord  of  the  Renaissance.  He  had  known 
also  the  first  Cardinal  Bourbon,  Don  Luis  IL,  and  used 
to  narrate  the  romantic  life  of  this  Infante.  Brother 
of  the  King  Carlos  HL,  the  custom  that  dedicated 
some  of  the  younger  branches  to  the  church  had  made 
him  a  cardinal  at  nine  years  old.  But  that  good  lord, 
whose  portrait  hung  in  the  Chapter  House,  with  white 
hair,  red  lips  and  blue  eyes,  felt  more  inclination  to  the 
joys  of  this  world  than  to  the  grandeurs  of  the  church, 
and  he  abandoned  the  archbishopric  to  marry  a  lady 
of  modest  birth,  quarrelling  for  ever  with  the  king,  who 

C.  D 


34  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

sent  him  into  exile.  And  the  old  Luna,  leaping  from 
ancestor  to  ancestor  through  the  long  centuries,  remem- 
bered the  Archduke  Alberto,  who  resigned  the  Toledan 
mitre  to  become  Governor  of  the  Low  Countries,  and 
the  magnificent  Cardinal  Tavera,  protector  of  the 
arts,  all  excellent  princes,  who  had  treated  his  family 
affectionately,  recognising  their  secular  adhesion  to  the 
Holy  Metropolitan  Church. 

The  days  of  his  youth  were  bad  ones  for  the  Senor 
Esteban  ;  it  was  the  time  of  the  war  of  Independence. 
The  French  occupied  Toledo,  entering  into  the  Cathedral 
like  pagans,  rattling  their  swords  and  prying  into  every 
corner  at  full  High  Mass.  The  jewels  were  concealed, 
the  canons  and  beneficiaries,  who  were  now  called 
prebendaries,  were  living  dispersed  over  the  Peninsula. 
Some  had  taken  refuge  in  places  that  were  still  Spanish, 
others  were  hidden  in  the  towns,  making  vows  for  the 
speedy  return  of  "  the  desired."  It  was  pitiful  to  hear 
the  choir  with  its  few  voices  ;  only  the  very  timid,  who 
were  bound  to  their  seats  and  could  not  live  away  from 
them,  had  remained,  and  had  recognised  the  usurping 
king.  The  second  Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  the  gentle  and 
insignificant  Don  Luis  Maria,  was  in  Cadiz,  the  only 
one  of  the  family  remaining  in  Spain,  and  the  Cortes 
had  laid  their  hands  on  him  to  give  a  certain  dynastic 
appearance  to  their  revolutionary  authority. 

When  the  war  was  over  and  the  poor  cardinal 
returned  to  his  seat,  the  Seiior  Esteban  was  moved  to 
pity  to  see  his  sad  and  childlike  face,  with  the  small 
round  head,  and  insignificant  appearance ;  he  returned 
discouraged  and  disheartened,  after  receiving  his 
nephew  Ferdinand  VII.  in  Madrid.  All  his  colleagues  in 
the  regency  were  either  in  prison  or  in  exile,  and  that 
he  did  not  suffer  a  like  fate  was  solely  due  to  his  mitre 
and  to  his  name.     The  unfortunate  prelate  thought  he 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL    35 

had  done  good  service  in  maintaining  the  interests  of 
his  family  during  the  war,  and  now  he  found  himself 
accused  of  being  Liberal,  an  enemy  to  religion  and  the 
throne,  without  being  able  to  imagine  how  he  had 
conspired  against  them.  The  poor  Cardinal  de  Bourbon 
languished  sadly  in  his  palace,  devoting  his  revenues  to 
works  in  the  Cathedral,  till  he  died  in  1823  at  the 
beginning  of  the  reaction,  leaving  his  place  to  Inguanzo, 
the  tribune  of  absolutism,  a  prelate  with  iron-grey 
whiskers,  who  had  made  his  career  as  deputy  in  the 
Cortes  at  Cadiz,  attacking  as  deputy  every  sort  of 
reform,  and  advocating  a  return  to  the  times  of  the 
Austrians  as  the  surest  means  of  saving  his  country. 

The  good  gardener  saluted  with  equal  cordiality  the 
Bourbon  Cardinal,  hated  by  the  kings,  as  the  prelate  with 
the  whiskers,  who  made  all  the  diocese  tremble  with 
his  bitter  and  harassing  temper,  and  his  arrogance  as 
a  revolutionary  Absolutist.  For  him,  whoever  occupied 
the  throne  of  Toledo  was  a  perfect  man,  whose  acts  no 
one  should  dare  to  discuss,  and  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
the  murmurs  of  the  canons  and  beneficiaries,  who, 
smoking  their  cigarettes  in  the  arbour  of  his  garden, 
spoke  of  the  genialities  of  this  Seiior  de  Inguanzo,  and 
were  indignant  at  the  Government  of  Ferdinand  VH. 
not  being  sufficiently  firm,  through  fear  of  the  for- 
eigners, to  re-establish  the  wholesome  tribunal  of  the 
Inquisition. 

The  only  thing  that  troubled  the  gardener  was  to 
watch  the  decadence  of  his  beloved  Cathedral.  The 
revenues  of  the  archbishop  and  of  the  Chapter  had 
been  greatly  wasted  during  the  war.  What  had 
occurred  was  what  happens  after  a  great  flood,  when 
the  waters  begin  to  subside  and  carry  everything  away 
with  them,  leaving  the  land  bare  and  uninhabited. 
The  Primacy  lost  many  of  its  rights,  the  tenants  made 

D  3 


36    THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

themselves  masters,  taking  advantage  of  the  disorders 
of  the  State  ;  the  towns  refused  to  pay  their  feudal 
services,  as  though  the  necessity  of  defending  them- 
selves and  helping  in  the  war  had  freed  them  for  ever 
from  vassalage ;  further,  the  turbulent  Cortes  had 
decreed  the  abolition  of  all  lordships,  and  had  very 
much  curtailed  the  enormous  revenues  of  the  Cathedral, 
acquired  in  the  centuries  when  the  archbishops  of 
Toledo  put  on  their  casques,  and  went  out  to  fight  the 
Moors  with  double-handed  swords. 

Even  so,  a  considerable  fortune  remained  to  the 
church  of  the  Primacy,  and  it  maintained  its  splendour 
as  if  nothing  had  happened,  but  the  Senor  Esteban 
scented  danger  from  the  depths  of  his  garden,  hearing 
from  the  canons  of  the  Liberal  conspiracies,  the  execu- 
tions by  shooting  and  hanging,  and  the  exiling,  to 
which  the  king  Seilor  Don  Fernando  appealed,  in  order 
to  repress  the  audacity  of  the  "  Negros,"  the  enemies 
of  the  Monarchy  and  of  religion. 

"They  have  tasted  the  sweets,"  said  he,  "and  they 
will  return — see  if  they  do  not  return,  and  take  what  is 
left !  During  the  war  they  took  the  first  bite,  taking 
from  the  Cathedral  more  than  half  that  was  hers,  and 
now  they  will  come  and  take  the  rest ;  they  will  try 
and  catch  hold  of  the  handle  of  the  fryingpan." 

The  gardener  was  angry  at  the  possibility  of  such  a 
thing  happening.  Ay !  and  was  it  for  this  that  so 
many  lord  archbishops  of  Toledo  fought  against  the 
Moors  ?  Conquering  towns,  assaulting  castles  and 
annexing  pasture  lands,  which  all  came  to  be  the 
property  of  the  Cathedral,  contributing  to  the  great 
splendour  of  God's  worship  !  And  was  everything  to 
fall  into  the  dirty  hands  of  the  enemies  of  anything  that 
was  holy  ?  Everything  that  so  many  faithful  souls 
had  willed  to   them    on  their  deathbeds,   queens   and 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  37 

magnates,  and  simple  country  gentlemen,  who  left  the 
best  part  of  their  fortunes  to  the  Holy  Metropolitan 
Church,  in  the  hope  of  saving  their  souls !  What 
would  happen  to  the  six  hundred  souls,  big  and  little, 
clerics  and  seculars,  dignitaries  and  simple  servants 
who  lived  from  the  revenues  of  the  Cathedral  ?  .  .  .  . 
And  was  this  called  liberty  ?  To  rob  what  did  not 
belong  to  them,  leaving  in  poverty  innumerable 
families  who  were  now  supported  by  the  "great  pot" 
of  the  Chapter  ? 

When  the  sad  forebodings  of  the  gardener  began  to 
be  realised,  andMendizabal  decreed  the  dismemberment, 
the  Senor  Esteban  thought  he  would  have  died  of  rage. 
But  the  Cardinal  Inguanzo  did  better.  Placed  in  his 
seat  by  the  Liberals  as  his  predecessor  had  been  by  the 
Absolutists,  he  thought  it  best  to  die  in  order  to  take  no 
part  in  these  attempts  against  the  sacred  revenues  of 
the  Church. 

The  Senor  Luna,  who  was  only  a  humble  gardener, 
and  who  therefore  could  not  imitate  the  illustrious 
Cardinal,  went  on  living.  But  every  day  he  felt  more 
and  more  sorrowful,  knowing  that  for  shamefully  low 
prices,  many  of  the  Moderates,  who  still  came  to  High 
Mass,  were  stealthily  acquiring  to-day  a  house,  to- 
morrow a  farm,  another  day  pasture  lands,  properties 
all  belonging  to  the  Primacy,  but  which  had  lately  been 
put  on  the  list  of  what  was  called  national  property. 

Robbers !  this  slow  subversion  and  sale,  that  rent  in 
pieces  the  revenues  of  the  Cathedral,  caused  the  Seiior 
Esteban  as  much  indignation  as  though  the  bailiffs  had 
entered  his  house  in  the  Claverias  to  remove  the  family 
furniture,  each  piece  of  which  embalmed  the  memory  of 
some  ancestor. 

There  were  times  in  which  he  thought  of  abandoning 
his  garden,  and  going  to  Maestrazgo,  or  to  the  northern 


38  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

provinces,  in  search  of  some  of  the  loyal  defenders  of 
the  rights  of  Charles  V.  and  of  the  return  to  the  old 
times.  He  was  then  forty  years  of  age,  strong  and 
active,  and  though  his  temperament  vv^as  pacific  and  he 
had  never  touched  a  musket,  he  felt  himself  fired  by 
the  example  of  certain  timid  and  pious  students,  who 
had  fled  from  the  seminary,  and  were  now,  so  it  was 
said,  fighting  in  Catalonia  behind  the  red  cloak  of  Don 
Ramon  Cabrera. 

But  the  gardener,  in  order  not  to  be  alone  in  his  big 
"  habitacion  "  in  the  Claverias,  had  married  three 
years  previously  the  daughter  of  the  sacristan,  and  he 
had  now  one  son  ;  besides,  he  could  not  tear  himself 
away  from  the  church,  he  was  another  square  block  in 
the  mountain  of  stone,  he  moved  and  spoke  as  a  man, 
but  he  felt  a  certainty  that  he  should  perish  at  once  if 
he  left  his  garden.  Besides,  the  Cathedral  would  lose 
one  of  the  most  important  props  if  a  Luna  were  want- 
ing in  its  service,  and  he  felt  terrified  at  the  bare 
thought  of  living  out  of  it.  How  could  he  wander  over 
the  mountains  fighting,  and  firing  shots,  when  years  had 
passed  without  his  treading  any  other  profane  soil 
beyond  the  little  bit  of  street  between  the  staircase  of 
the  Claverias  and  the  Puerta  del  Mollete  ? 

And  so  he  went  on  cultivating  his  garden,  feeling  the 
melancholy  satisfaction  that  he  was  at  least  sheltered 
from  all  the  wicked  revolutionaries  under  the  shadow 
of  that  colossus  of  stone,  which  inspired  awe  and 
respect  from  its  majestic  age.  They  might  curtail  the 
revenues  of  the  temple,  but  they  would  be  powerless 
against  the  Christian  faith  of  those  who  lived  under  its 
protection. 

The  garden,  deaf  and  insensible  to  the  revolutionary 
tempests  that  broke  over  the  church,  continued  to 
unfold   its    sombre    beauty  between    the  arcades,  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  39 

laurels  grew  till  they  reached  the  balustrade  of  the 
upper  cloister,  and  the  cypresses  seemed  as  though  they 
aspired  to  touch  the  roofs  ;  the  creepers  twined  them- 
selves among  the  iron  railings,  making  thick  lattices  of 
verdure,  and  the  ivy  mantled  the  wall  of  the  central 
arbour,  which  was  surmounted  by  a  cap  of  black  slate 
with  a  rusty  iron  cross.  After  the  evening  choir  the 
clergy  would  come  and  sit  in  here  and  read,  by  the  soft 
green  light  that  filtered  through  the  foliage,  the  news 
from  the  Carlist  Camp,  and  discuss  enthusiastically  the 
great  exploits  of  Cabrera,  while  above,  the  swallows 
quite  indifferent  to  human  presence,  circled  and 
screamed  in  the  clear  blue  sky.  The  Sefior  Esteban 
would  watch,  standing  silently,  this  bat-like  evening 
club,  which  was  kept  quietly  hidden  from  those  belong- 
ing to  the  National  Militia  of  Toledo. 

When  the  war  terminated,  the  last  illusions  of  the 
gardener  vanished,  he  fell  into  the  silence  of  despair 
and  wished  to  know  of  nothing  outside  the  Cathedral. 
God  had  abandoned  the  good  and  faithful,  and  the 
traitors  and  evil-doers  were  triumphant ;  his  only  con- 
solation was  the  stronghold  of  the  temple,  which  had 
lived  through  so  many  centuries  of  turmoil,  and  could 
still  defy  its  enemies  for  so  many  more. 

He  only  wished  to  be  the  gardener,  to  die  in  the 
upper  cloister  like  his  forefathers,  and  to  leave  fresh 
Lunas  to  perpetuate  the  family  services  in  the  Cathedral. 
His  eldest  son,  Tomas,  was  now  twelve  years  old,  and 
able  to  help  him  in  the  care  of  the  garden.  After  an 
interval  of  many  years  a  second  son  had  been  born, 
Esteban,  who,  almost  before  he  could  walk,  would 
kneel  before  the  images  in  the  *'  habitacion,"  crying 
for  his  mother  to  carry  him  down  into  the  church  to 
see  the  saints. 

Poverty  entered    into    the   Cathedral,    reducing   the 


40  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

number  of  canons  and  prebendaries  ;  at  the  death  of 
any  of  the  old  servants,  their  places  were  suppressed, 
and  a  great  many  carpenters,  masons,  and  glaziers  who 
previously  had  lived  there  as  workmen  specially 
attached  to  the  Primacy,  and  were  continiially  working 
at  its  repairs,  were  dismissed.  If  from  time  to  time 
certain  repairs  were  indispensable,  workmen  were  called 
in  from  outside,  by  the  day ;  many  of  the  "  habitacions  " 
in  the  Claverias  were  unoccupied,  and  the  silence  of  the 
grave  reigned  where  previously  the  population  of  a 
small  town  had  gathered  and  crowded.  The  Govern- 
ment of  Madrid  (and  you  should  have  seen  the 
expression  of  contempt  with  which  the  old  gardener 
emphasised  those  words)  was  in  treaty  with  the  Holy 
Father  to  arrange  something  called  the  Concordat. 
The  number  of  canons  was  limited  as  though  the  Holy 
Metropolitan  was  a  college,  they  were  to  be  paid  by 
the  Government  the  same  as  the  servants,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  worship  in  this  most  famous  Cathedral 
of  all  Spain — which,  when  it  formerly  collected  its  tithe, 
scarcely  knew  where  to  lock  up  such  riches — a  monthly 
pension  of  twelve  hundred  pesetas  was  now  granted. 

"  One  thousand  two  hundred  pesetas,  Tomas  !  "  said 
he  to  his  son,  a  silent  boy,  who  took  very  little  interest 
in  anything  but  his  garden.  **  One  thousand  two 
hundred  pesetas,  when  I  can  remember  the  Cathedral 
having  more  than  six  millions  of  revenue !  Bad  times 
are  in  store  for  us,  and  were  I  anyone  else  I  would 
bring  you  up  to  an  office,  or  something  outside  the 
church;  but  the  Lunas  cannot  desert  the  cause  of  God, 
like  so  many  traitors  who  have  betrayed  it.  Here  we 
were  born,  here  we  must  die,  to  the  very  last  one  of 
the  family."  And  furious  with  the  clergy,  who  seemed 
to  put  a  good  face  on  the  Concordat  and  their  salaries, 
thankful  to  have  come  out  of  the  revolutionary  tumults 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  41 

even  as  well  as  they  had  done,  he  isolated  himself  in  his 
garden,  locking  the  door  in  the  iron  railing,  and  shrinking 
from  the  assemblies  of  former  times  ! 

His  little  floral  world  did  not  change,  its  sombre 
verdure  was  like  the  twilight  that  had  enveloped  the 
gardener's  soul.  It  had  not  the  brilliant  gaiety,  over- 
flowing with  colours  and  scents  of  a  garden  in  the 
open,  bathed  in  full  sunlight,  but  it  had  the  shady  and 
melancholy  beauty  of  a  conventual  garden  between 
four  walls,  with  no  more  light  than  what  came  through 
the  eaves  and  the  arcades,  and  no  other  birds  but  those 
flying  above,  who  looked  with  wonder  at  this  little 
paradise  at  the  bottom  of  a  well.  The  vegetation  was 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Greek  landscapes,  and  of  the 
idylls  of  the  Greek  poets — laurels,  cypress  and  roses, 
but  the  arches  that  surrounded  it,  with  their  alleys 
paved  with  great  slabs  of  granite  in  whose  interstices 
wreaths  of  grass  grew,  the  cross  of  its  central  arbour, 
the  mouldy  smell  of  the  old  iron  railings,  and  the 
damp  of  the  stone  buttresses  coloured  a  soft  green  by 
the  rain,  gave  the  garden  an  atmosphere  of  reverend  age 
and  a  character  of  its  own. 

The  trees  waved  in  the  wind  like  censers,  the  flowers, 
pale  and  languid  with  an  anaemic  beauty,  smelt  of 
incense,  as  though  the  air  wafted  through  the  doors  of 
the  Cathedral  had  changed  their  natural  perfumes. 

The  rain,  trickling  from  the  gargoyles  and  gutters  of 
the  roofs,  was  collected  in  two  large  and  deep  stone 
tanks  ;  sometimes  the  gardener's  pail  would  disturb  their 
green  covering,  letting  one  perceive  for  an  instant  the 
blue-blackness  of  their  depths,  but  as  soon  as  the 
circles  disappeared,  the  vegetation  once  more  drew 
together  and  covered  them  over  afresh,  without  a 
movement,  without  a  ripple,  quiet  and  dead  as  the 
temple  itself  in  the  stillness  of  the  evening. 


42  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

At  the  feast  of  Corpus,  and  that  of  the  Virgin  of  the 
Sagrario  in  the  middle  of  August,  the  townspeople 
brought  their  pitchers  into  the  garden,  and  the  Sefior 
Esteban  allowed  them  to  be  filled  from  these  two 
cisterns.  It  was  an  ancient  custom  and  one  much 
appreciated  by  the  old  Toledans,  who  thought  much  of 
the  fresh  water  of  the  Cathedral,  condemned  as  they 
were  during  the  rest  of  the  year  to  drink  the  red  and 
muddy  liquid  of  the  Tagus.  At  other  times  people 
came  into  the  garden  to  give  little  presents  to  Seiior 
Esteban,  the  devout  entrusted  him  with  palms  for 
for  their  images,  or  bought  little  bunches  of  flowers, 
believing  them  to  be  better  than  those  they  could  buy 
at  the  farms,  because  they  came  from  the  Metropolitan 
Church,  and  the  old  women  begged  branches  of  laurel 
for  flavouring  and  for  household  medicines.  These 
incomings,  and  the  two  pesetas  that  the  Chapter  had 
assigned  to  the  gardener  after  the  final  dismemberment, 
helped  the  Senor  Esteban  and  his  family  to  get  on. 
When  he  was  getting  well  on  in  years  his  third  son 
Gabriel  was  born,  a  child  who  from  his  fourth  year 
attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  women  in  the  Claverias ; 
his  mother  affirmed  with  a  blind  faith  that  he  was  a 
living  image  of  the  Child  Jesus  that  the  Virgin  of  the 
Sagrario  held  in  her  arms.  Her  sister  Tomasa,  who 
was  married  to  the  "  Virgin's  Blue,"  and  was  the  mother 
of  a  numerous  family  which  occupied  nearly  the  half  of 
the  upper  cloister,  talked  a  great  deal  about  the  intelli- 
gence of  her  little  nephew,  when  he  could  hardly  speak, 
and  about  the  infantile  unction  with  which  he  gazed  at 
the  images. 

"  He  looks  like  a  saint,"  she  said  to  her  friends.  "  You 
should  see  how  seriously  he  says  his  prayers.  .  .  . 
Gabrielillo  will  become  somebody;  who  knows  if  we 
may  not  see  him  a  bishop !    Acolytes  that  I  knew  when 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  43 

my  father  had  charge  of  the  sacristy  now  wear  the 
mitre,  and  possibly  some  day  we  may  have  one  of  them 
in  Toledo." 

The  chorus  of  caresses  and  praises  surrounded  the 
first  years  of  the  child  like  a  cloud  of  incense  ;  the  family 
only  lived  for  him,  the  Senor  Esteban,  a  father  in  the 
good  old  Latin  style  who  loved  his  sons,  but  was  severe 
and  stern  with  them  in  order  that  they  might  grow  up 
honourable,  felt  in  the  presence  of  the  child  a  return  of 
his  own  youth ;  he  played  with  him,  and  lent  himself 
smilingly  to  all  his  little  caprices ;  his  mother  abandoned 
her  household  duties  to  please  him,  and  his  brother 
hung  on  his  babbling  words.  The  eldest,  Tomas,  the 
silent  youth  who  had  taken  the  place  of  his  father  in  the 
care  of  the  garden,  and  who  even  in  the  depths  of  winter 
went  barefooted  over  the  flower-beds  and  rough  stones 
of  the  alleys,  came  up  often  bringing  handfuls  of  sweet- 
scented  herbs,  so  that  his  little  brother  might  play  with 
them.  Esteban,  the  second,  who  was  now  thirteen  and 
who  enjoyed  a  certain  notoriety  among  the  other  aco- 
lytes on  account  of  his  scrupulous  care  in  assisting  at 
the  mass,  delighted  Gabriel  with  his  red  cassock  and 
his  pleated  tunic,  and  brought  him  taper  ends  and  little 
coloured  prints,  abstracted  from  the  breviary  of  some 
canon. 

Now  and  then  he  carried  him  in  his  arms  to  the 
storeroom  of  the  giants,  an  immense  room  between 
the  buttresses  and  the  arches  of  the  nave,  vaulted  with 
stone.  Here  were  the  heroes  of  the  ancient  feasts  and 
holidays.  The  Cid  with  a  huge  sword,  and  four  set 
pieces  representing  as  many  parts  of  the  world :  huge 
figures  with  dusty  and  tattered  clothes  and  broken 
faces,  which  had  once  rejoiced  the  streets  of  Toledo, 
and  were  now  rotting  under  the  roofs  of  its  Cathedral. 
In  one  corner  reposed  the  Tarasca,  a  frightful  monster 


44  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

of  cardboard,  which  terrified  Gabriel  when  it  opened  its 
jaws,  while  on  its  wrinkled  back  sat  smiling,  idiotically, 
a  dishevelled  and  indecent  doll,  whom  the  religious  feel- 
ing of  former  ages  had  baptised  with  the  name  of  Anne 
Boleyn. 

When  Gabriel  went  to  school  all  were  astonished  at 
his  progress.  The  youngsters  of  the  upper  cloister  who 
were  such  a  trial  to  "  Silver  Stick,"  the  priest  charged 
with  maintaining  good  order  among  the  tribe  established 
in  the  roofs  of  the  Cathedral,  looked  upon  the  little 
Gabriel  as  a  prodigy.  When  he  could  scarcely  walk  he 
could  read  easily,  and  at  seven  he  began  to  recite  his 
Latin,  mastering  it  quickly,  as  though  he  had  never 
spoken  anything  else  in  his  life,  and  at  ten  he  could 
argue  with  the  clergy  who  frequented  the  gardens, 
and  who  delighted  in  putting  before  him  questions  and 
difficulties. 

The  Senor  Esteban,  growing  daily  more  bent  and 
feeble,  smiled  delightedly  before  his  last  work ;  he  was 
going  to  be  the  glory  of  his  house  !  His  name  was  Luna, 
and  therefore  he  could  aspire  to  anything  without  fear, 
because  even  Popes  had  come  from  that  family. 

The  canons  would  take  the  boy  into  the  sacristy  after 
choir,  and  question  him  as  to  his  studies.  One  of  the 
clergy  belonging  to  the  archbishop's  household  pre- 
sented him  to  the  cardinal,  who,  after  hearing  him, 
gave  him  a  handful  of  sugared  almonds  and  the  promise 
of  a  scholarship,  so  that  he  could  continue  his  studies 
at  the  seminary  gratuitously. 

The  Lunas  and  all  their  relations  more  or  less  distant, 
who  were  really  nearly  the  whole  population  of  the  upper 
cloister,  were  rejoiced  at  this  promise  ;  what  else  could 
Gabriel  be  but  a  priest  ?  For  these  people,  attached  to 
the  church  from  the  day  of  their  birth,  like  excrescences 
of  its  stones,  who  considered  the  archbishops  of  Toledo 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  45 

as  the  most  powerful  beings  in  the  world  after  the  Pope, 
the  only  profession  worthy  of  a  man  of  talent  was  the 
Church. 

Gabriel  went  to  the  Seminary,  and  to  all  the  family 
the  Claverias  seemed  quite  deserted.  The  long,  pleasant 
evenings  in  the  house  of  the  Lunas  came  to  an  end,  at 
which  the  bell-ringer,  the  vergers,  the  sacristans  and 
other  church  servants  had  been  used  to  assemble,  and 
listen  to  the  clear  and  well  modulated  voice  of  Gabriel, 
who  read  like  an  angel — sometimes  the  lives  of  the  saints, 
at  other  times  Catholic  newspapers  that  came  from 
Madrid,  or  chapters  from  a  Don  Quixote  with  pages  of 
vellum  and  antiquated  writing — a  venerable  copy  which 
had  been  handed  down  in  the  family  for  generations. 

Gabriel's  life  in  the  Seminary  was  the  ordinary  and 
monotonous  life  of  a  hard-working  student  :  triumphs 
%i  theological  controversies,  prizes  in  heaps,  and  the 
satisfaction  of  being  held  up  to  his  companions  as  a 
model. 

Sometimes  one  of  the  canons  who  lectured  in  the 
seminary  would  come  into  the  garden  : — 

"  The  lad  is  getting  on  very  well,  Esteban  ;  he  is 
first  in  everything,  and  besides,  is  as  steady  and  pious 
as  a  saint.     He  will  be  the  comfort  of  your  old  age." 

The  gardener,  always  growing  older  and  thinner, 
shook  his  head.  He  should  only  be  able  to  see  the  end  of 
his  son's  career  from  the  heavens,  should  it  please  God 
to  call  him  there.  He  would  die  before  his  son's  triumph  ; 
but  this  did  not  sadden  him,  for  the  family  would 
remain  to  enjoy  the  victory  and  to  give  thanks  to  God 
for  His  goodness. 

Humanities,  theology,  canons,  everything,  the  young 
man  mastered  with  an  ease  which  surprised  his  masters, 
and  they  compared  him  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
who   had   attracted   attention  by  their  precocity.     He 


46  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

would  very  soon  finish  his  studies,  and  they  all  predicted 
that  his  Eminence  would  give  him  a  professorship  in  the 
seminary,  even  before  he  sang  his  first  mass.  His 
thirst  for  learning  was  insatiable,  and  it  seemed  as 
though  the  library  really  belonged  to  him.  Some 
evenings  he  would  go  into  the  Cathedral  to  pursue  his 
musical  studies,  and  talk  with  the  Chapel-master  and 
the  organist,  and  at  other  times  in  the  hall  of  sacred 
oratory  he  would  astound  the  professors  and  the  Alumni 
by  the  fervour  and  conviction  with  which  he  delivered 
his  sermons. 

"  He  is  called  to  the  pulpit,"  they  said  in  the 
Cathedral  garden.  "  He  has  all  the  fire  of  the  apostles  ; 
He  will  become  a  Saint  Bernard  or  a  Bossuet.  Who 
can  tell  how  far  this  youth  will  go,  or  where  he  will 
end  ?  " 

One  of  the  studies  which  most  delighted  Gabriel  was 
that  of  the  history  of  the  Cathedral,  and  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical princes  who  had  ruled  it.  All  the  inherent  love  of 
the  Lunas  for  the  giantess  who  was  their  eternal  mother 
surged  up  in  him,  but  he  did  not  love  it  blindly  as  all 
his  belongings  did.  He  wished  to  know  the  why  and 
the  wherefore  of  things,  comparing  in  his  books  the 
vague  old  stories  that  he  had  heard  from  his  father,  that 
seemed  more  akin  to  legends  than  to  historical  facts. 

The  first  thing  that  claimed  his  attention  was  the 
chronology  of  the  archbishops  of  Toledo — a  long  line 
of  famous  men,  saints,  warriors,  writers,  princes,  each 
with  his  number  after  his  name,  like  the  kings  of  the 
different  dynasties.  At  certain  times  they  had  been  the 
real  kings  of  Spain.  The  Gothic  kings  in  their  courts 
were  little  more  than  decorative  figureheads  that  were 
raised  or  deposed  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment.  The  nation  was  a  theocratic  republic,  and 
its  trug  head  was  the  Archbishop  of  Toledo. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  47 

Gabriel  grouped  the  long  line  of  famous  prelates  by 
characters.  First  of  all  the  saints,  the  apostles  in  the 
heroic  age  of  Christianity,  bishops  as  poor  as  their  own 
people,  barefooted,  fugitives  from  the  Roman  persecu- 
tion, and  bowing  their  heads  at  last  to  the  executioner, 
firm  in  the  hope  of  gaining  fresh  strength  to  the 
doctrine  for  which  they  sacrificed  their  lives — Saint 
Eugenio,  Melancio,  Pelagio,  Patruno  and  other  names 
that  shone  in  the  past  scarcely  breaking  through  the 
mists  of  legend.  Then  came  the  archbishops  of  the 
Gothic  era  ;  those  kingly  prelates  who  exercised  that 
superiority  over  the  conquering  kings  by  which  the 
spiritual  power  succeeded  in  dominating  the  barbarian 
conquerors.  Miracles  accompanied  them  to  confound 
the  Arians,  and  celestial  prodigies  were  at  their  orders 
to  terrify  and  crush  those  rude  men  of  war.  The 
Archbishop  Montano,  who  lived  with  his  wife,  and  was 
indignant  at  the  consequent  murmurs,  placed  red-hot 
coals  in  his  sacred  vestments  the  while  he  said  mass, 
and  did  not  burn,  demonstrating  by  this  miracle  the 
purity  of  his  life.  Saint  Ildefonso,  not  content  with 
only  writing  books  against  heretics,  induced  Santa 
Leocadia  to  appear  to  him,  leaving  in  his  hands  a  piece 
of  her  mantle,  and  he  enjoyed  the  further  honour  of 
this  same  Virgin  descending  from  heaven  to  present  him 
with  a  chasuble  embroidered  by  her  own  hands.  Sigi- 
berto,  many  years  after,  had  the  audacity  to  vest  himself 
in  this  chasuble,  and  was  in  consequence  deposed, 
excommunicated  and  exiled  for  his  temerity. 

The  only  books  that  were  produced  in  those  times 
were  written  by  the  prelates  of  Toledo.  They  compiled 
the  laws,  they  anointed  the  heads  of  the  monarchs 
with  the  holy  oil,  they  set  up  Wamba  as  king,  they 
conspired  against  the  life  of  Egica,  and  the  councils 
assembled   in   the  basilica    of    Santa    Leocadia   were 


48  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

political  assemblies  in  which  the  mitre  was  on  the 
throne  and  the  crown  of  the  king  at  the  feet  of  the 
prelate. 

At  the  coming  of  the  Saracen  invasion  the  series  of 
persecuted  prelates  begins  again.  They  did  not  now 
fear  for  their  lives  as  during  the  time  of  Roman  intoler- 
ance ;  for  Mussulmen  as  a  rule  do  not  martyr,  and 
furthermore,  they  respect  the  beliefs  of  the  conquered. 

All  the  churches  in  Toledo  remained  in  the  hands  of 
the  Christian  Muzarabes,^  with  the  exception  of  the 
Cathedral,  which  was  converted  into  the  principal 
mosque. 

The  Catholic  bishops  were  respected  by  the  Moors, 
as  were  also  the  Hebrew  rabbis ;  but  the  Church  was 
poor,  and  the  continual  wars  between  the  Saracens  and 
the  Christians,  together  with  the  reprisals  which  set  a 
seal  on  the  barbarities  of  the  reconquest,  made  the 
continuance  and  life  of  worship  extremely  difficult. 

Having  arrived  at  this  point  Gabriel  read  the  obscure 
names  of  Cixila,  Elipando  and  Wistremiro.  Saint 
Eulogio  termed  this  last  "  the  torch  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  light  of  Spain  "  ;  but  history  is  silent  as  to  his 
deeds,  and  Saint  Eulogio  was  martyred  and  killed  by 
the  Moors  in  Cordova  on  account  of  his  excessive 
religious  zeal.  Benito,  a  Frenchman  who  succeeded  to 
the  chair,  not  to  be  behind  his  predecessors,  made  the 
Virgin  send  him  down  another  chasuble  to  a  church  in 
his  own  country  before  he  came  to  Toledo. 

After  these,  came  the  interesting  chronology  of  the 
warrior  archbishops,  warriors  of  coat-of-mail  and  two- 
edged  sword,  the  conquerors  who,  leaving  the  choir  to 
the  meek  and  humble,  mounted  their  war-horses  and 

1  Muzarab^s — Christians  living  among  the  Moors  and  mixing 
with  them  ;  also  an  ancient  form  of  service  still  continued  in  one 
chapel  in  Toledo  and  in  one  at  Salamanca, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  49 

thought  they  were  not  serving  God  unless  during  the 
year  they  added  sundry  towns  and  pasture  lands  to  the 
goods  of  the  Church.  They  arrived  in  the  eleventh 
century,  with  Alfonso  VI.,  to  the  conquest  of  Toledo. 
The  first  were  French  monks  from  the  famous  Abbey 
of  Cluny,  sent  by  the  Abbot  Hugo  to  the  convent  of 
Sahagun,  and  they  were  the  first  to  use  the  "  don  "  as 
a  sign  of  lordship.  To  the  pious  tolerance  of  the  pre- 
ceding bishops,  accustomed  to  friendly  intercourse 
with  Arabs  and  Jews  in  the  full  liberty  of  the  Muzarabe 
worship,  succeeded  the  ferocious  intolerance  of  the 
Christian  conqueror.  The  Archbishop  Don  Bernardo 
was  scarcely  seated  in  the  chair  before  he  took  advan- 
tage of  the  absence  of  Alfonso  VI.  to  violate  all  his 
promises.  The  principal  mosque  had  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Moors  by  a  solemn  compact  with  the 
king,  who,  like  all  the  monarchs  of  the  reconquest,  was 
tolerant  in  matters  of  religion.  The  archbishop,  using 
his  powerful  influence  over  the  mind  of  the  queen, 
made  her  the  accomplice  of  his  plans,  and  one  night, 
followed  by  clergy  and  workmen,  he  knocked  down  the 
doors  of  the  mosque,  cleansed  it  and  purified  it,  and 
next  morning  when  the  Saracens  came  to  pray  towards 
the  rising  sun,  they  found  it  changed  into  a  Catholic 
cathedral.  The  conquered,  trusting  in  the  word  given 
by  the  conqueror,  protested,  scandalised,  and  that  they 
did  not  rise  was  solely  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
Alfaqui  Abu-Walid,  who  trusted  that  the  king  would 
fulfil  his  promises.  In  three  days  Alfonso  VI.  arrived 
in  Toledo  from  the  further  end  of  Castille,  ready  to 
murder  the  archbishop  and  even  his  own  wife  for  their 
share  in  this  villainy  that  had  compromised  his  word  as 
a  cavalier,  but  his  fury  was  so  great  that  even  the 
Moors  were  moved,  and  the  Alfaqui  went  out  to  meet 
him,  begging  him  to  condone  the  deed  as  it  was 
c.  E 


50  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

accomplished,  as  the  injured  parties  would  agree  to  it, 
and  in  the  name  of  the  conquered  he  relieved  him  from 
keeping  his  word,  because  the  possession  of  a  building 
was  not  a  sufficient  reason  for  breaking  the  peace. 

Gabriel  admired  as  he  read  the  prudence  and  modera- 
tion of  the  good  Moor  Abu-Walid ;  but  with  his  enthu- 
siasm as  a  seminarist  he  admired  still  more  those  proud, 
intolerant  and  warlike  prelates,  who  trampled  laws  and 
people  under  foot  for  the  greater  glory  of  God. 

The  Archbishop  Martin  was  Captain-General  against 
the  Moors  in  Andalusia,  conquering  towns,  and  he 
accompanied  Alfonso  VHI.  to  the  battle  of  Alarcos. 
The  famous  prelate  Don  Rodrigo  wrote  the  chronicle  of 
Spain,  filling  it  with  miracles  for  the  greater  prosperity 
of  the  Church,  and  he  practically  made  history,  passing 
more  time  on  his  war-horse  than  on  his  throne  in  the 
choir.  At  the  battle  de  las  Navas  he  set  so  fine  an 
example,  throwing  himself  into  the  thick  of  the  fight, 
that  the  king  gave  him  twenty  lordships  as  well  as  that 
of  Talavera  de  la  Reina.  Afterwards,  in  the  king's 
absence,  he  drove  the  Moors  out  of  Quesada  and 
Cazorla,  taking  possession  of  vast  territories,  which 
passed  under  his  sway,  with  the  name  of  the  Adelan- 
tamiento^.  Don  Sancho,  son  of  Don  Jaime  of  Aragon, 
and  brother  to  the  Queen  of  Castille,  thought  more  of 
his  title  of  "  Chief  Leader  "  than  of  his  mitre  of  Toledo, 
and  on  the  advance  of  the  Moors  went  out  to  meet 
them  in  the  martial  field.  He  fought  wherever  the 
fighting  was  fiercest,  and  was  finally  killed  by  the 
Moslems,  who  cut  off  his  hands  and  placed  his  head 
on  a  spear. 

Don  Gil  de  Albornoz,  the  famous  cardinal,  went  to 
Italy,  flying  from  Don  Pedro  the  Cruel,  and,  like  a  great 

'  Adelantamiento — Advancement. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  51 

captain,  reconquered  all  the  territory  of  the  Popes,  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Avignon.  Don  Gutierre  HI.  went 
with  Don  Juan  II.  to  fight  against  the  Moors.  Don 
Alfonso  de  Acuna  fought  in  the  civil  war  during  the 
reign  of  Enrique  IV. ;  and  as  a  fitting  end  to  this  series 
of  political  and  conquering  prelates,  rich  and  powerful 
as  true  princes,  there  arose  the  Cardinal  Mendoza,  who 
fought  at  the  battle  of  Toro,  and  at  the  conquest  of 
Granada,  afterwards  governing  that  kingdom ;  and 
Jimenez  de  Cisneros,  who,  finding  no  Moors  left  in  the 
Peninsula  to  fight,  crossed  the  sea  and  went  to  Oran, 
waving  his  cross  and  turning  it  into  a  weapon  of  war. 

The  seminarist  admired  these  men,  magnified  by  the 
mists  of  ancient  history  and  the  praises  of  the  Church. 
For  him  they  were  the  greatest  men  in  the  world  after 
the  Popes,  and,  indeed,  often  far  superior  to  them.  He 
was  astonished  that  the  Spaniards  of  the  present  times 
were  so  blind  that  they  did  not  entrust  their  direction 
and  government  to  the  archbishops  of  Toledo,  who  in 
former  centuries  had  performed  such  heroic  deeds. 
The  glory  and  advancement  of  the  country  was  so 
intimately  connected  with  their  history,  their  dynasty 
was  quite  as  great  as  that  of  the  kings,  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion  they  had  saved  these  latter  by  their 
counsels  and  energy. 

After  these  eagles  came  the  birds  of  prey  ;  after  the 
prelates  with  their  iron  morions  and  their  coats-of- 
mail  came  the  rich  and  luxurious  prelates,  who  cared 
for  no  other  combats  but  those  of  the  law  courts,  and 
were  in  perpetual  litigation  with  towns,  guilds,  and 
private  individuals  in  order  to  retain  the  possessions 
and  the  vast  fortune  accumulated  by  their  predecessors. 

Those  who  were  generous  like  Tavera  built  palaces, 
and  encouraged  artists  like  El  Greco,  Berruguete  and 
others,  creating  a  Renaissance  in  Toledo,  an  echo  from 

E  2 


52  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Italy.  Those  who  were  miserly,  like  Quiroga,  reduced 
the  expenses  of  the  pompous  church,  to  turn  themselves 
into  money-lenders  to  the  kings,  giving  millions  of 
ducats  to  those  Austrian  monarchs  on  whose  dominions 
the  sun  never  set,  but  who,  nevertheless,  found  them- 
selves obliged  to  beg  almost  as  soon  as  their  galleons 
returned  from  their  voyages  to  America. 

The  Cathedral  was  the  work  of  these  priestly  ecclesi- 
astics ;  each  one  had  done  something  in  it  which 
revealed  his  character.  The  rougher  and  more  war- 
like its  framework,  that  mountain  of  stone  and  wood 
which  formed  its  skeleton  ;  those  who  were  more  cul- 
tivated, elevated  to  the  See  in  times  of  greater  refine- 
ment, contributed  the  minutely-worked  iron  railings, 
the  doors  of  lace-like  stonework,  the  pictures,  and  the 
jewels  which  made  its  sacristy  a  veritable  treasure 
house.  The  gestation  of  the  giantess  had  lasted  for 
three  centuries ;  it  seemed  like  those  enormous  pre- 
historic animals  who  slept  so  long  in  their  mother's 
womb  before  seeing  the  light. 

When  its  walls  and  pilasters  first  rose  above  the  soil 
Gothic  art  was  in  its  first  epoch,  and  during  the  two 
and  a  half  centuries  that  its  building  lasted  architec- 
ture made  great  strides.  Gabriel  could  follow  this  slow 
transformation  with  his  mind's  eye  as  he  studied  the 
building,  discovering  the  various  signs  of  its  evolution. 

The  magnificent  church  was  like  a  giantess  whose 
feet  were  shod  with  rough  shoes,  but  whose  head  was 
covered  with  the  loveliest  plumes.  The  bases  of  the 
pillars  were  rough  and  devoid  of  ornament,  the  shafts 
of  the  columns  rose  with  severe  simplicity,  crowned  by 
plain  capitals  at  the  base  of  the  arches,  on  which  the 
Gothic  thistle  had  not  yet  attained  the  exuberant  branch- 
ing of  a  later  florid  period;  but  the  vaulting  which 
was    finished    perhaps    two    centuries   after   the    first 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  53 

beginning,  and  the  windows  with  their  multi-coloured 
ogives,  displayed  the  magnificence  of  an  art  at  its 
culminating  point. 

At  the  two  extreme  ends  of  the  transepts  Gabriel 
found  the  proof  of  the  immense  progress  made  during 
the  two  centuries  in  which  the  Cathedral  had  been 
rising  from  the  ground.  The  Puerta  del  Reloj,^ 
called  also  de  la  Feria,^  with  its  rude  sculptures  of 
archaic  rigidity,  and  the  tympanum,  covered  with  small 
scenes  from  the  creation,  was  a  great  contrast  to  the 
doorway  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  crossway,  that  of 
Los  Leones,^  or  by  its  other  name,  de  la  Alegria,^ 
built  nearly  two  hundred  years  afterwards,  elegant  and 
majestic  as  the  entrance  to  a  palace,  showing  already 
the  fleshly  audacities  of  the  Renaissance,  endeavouring 
to  thrust  themselves  into  the  severity  of  Christian 
architecture,  a  siren  fastened  to  the  door  by  her  curling 
tail  serving  as  an  example. 

The  Cathedral,  built  entirely  of  a  milky  white  stone 
from  the  quarries  close  to  Toledo,  rose  in  one  single 
elevation  from  the  base  of  the  pillars  to  the  vaulting, 
with  no  triforium  to  cut  its  arcades  and  to  weaken  and 
load  the  naves  with  superimposed  arches.  Gabriel  saw 
in  this  a  petrified  symbol  of  prayer,  rising  direct  to 
Heaven,  without  assistance  or  support.  The  smooth, 
soft  stone  was  used  throughout  the  building,  harder 
stone  being  used  for  the  vaultings,  and  on  the  exterior 
the  buttresses  and  pinnacles,  as  well  as  the  flying  butt- 
resses like  small  bridges  between  them,  were  of  the 
hardest  granite,  which  from  age  had  taken  a  golden 
colour,   and   which   protected   and  supported  the  airy 

»  Reloj—C\oc^. 
^  Feria — Of  the  fair. 
^  Los  Lcofies — Lions. 
^  Alegria — Joy. 


54  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

delicacy  of  the  interior.  The  two  sorts  of  stone  made  a 
great  contrast  in  the  appearance  of  the  Cathedral,  dark 
and  reddish  outside,  white  and  delicate  inside. 

The  seminarist  found  examples  of  every  sort  of  archi- 
tecture that  had  flourished  in  the  Peninsula.  The 
primitive  Gothic  was  found  in  the  earliest  doorways, 
the  florid  in  those  del  Perdon  and  de  los  Leones,  and 
the  Arab  architecture  showed  its  graceful  horseshoe 
arches  in  the  triforium  running  round  the  whole  abside 
of  the  choir,  which  was  the  work  of  Cisneros,  who, 
though  he  burnt  the  Moslem  books,  introduced  their 
style  of  architecture  into  the  heart  of  the  Christian 
temple.  The  plateresque  style  showed  its  fanciful  grace 
in  the  door  of  the  cloister,  and  even  the  chirruguesque 
showed  at  its  best  in  the  famous  lanthorn  of  Tom^, 
which  broke  the  vaulting  behind  the  high  altar  in  order 
to  give  light  to  the  abside. 

In  the  evenings  of  the  vacation  Gabriel  would  leave 
the  seminary,  and  wander  about  the  Cathedral  till  the 
hour  at  which  its  doors  were  closed.  He  delighted  in 
walking  through  the  naves  and  behind  the  high  altar, 
the  darkest  and  most  silent  spot  in  the  whole  church. 
Here  slept  a  great  part  of  the  history  of  Spain.  Behind 
the  locked  gates  of  the  chapel  of  the  kings,  guarded  by 
the  stone  heralds  on  pedestals,  lay  the  kings  of  Castille 
in  their  tombs,  their  effigies  crowned,  in  golden  armour, 
praying,  with  their  swords  by  their  sides.  He  would 
stop  before  the  chapel  of  Santiago,  admiring  through 
the  railings  of  its  three  pointed  arches  the  legendary 
saint,  dressed  as  a  pilgrim,  holding  his  sword  on  high, 
and  tramping  on  Mahomedans  with  his  war-horse. 
Great  shells  and  red  shields  with  a  silver  moon  adorned 
the  white  walls,  rising  up  to  the  vaulting,  and  this 
chapel  his  father,  the  gardener,  regarded  as  his  own 
peculiar  property.     It  was  that  of  the  Lunas,  and  though 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  55 

some  people  laughed  at  the  relationship,  there  lay  his 
illustrious  progenitors,  Don  Alvaro  and  his  wife,  on  their 
monumental  tombs.  That  of  Dona  Juana  Pimental  had 
at  its  four  corners  the  figures  of  four  kneeling  friars  in 
yellow  marble,  who  watched  over  the  noble  lady 
extended  on  the  upper  part  of  the  monument.  That  of 
the  unhappy  constable  of  Castille  was  surrounded  by 
four  knights  of  Santiago,  wrapped  in  the  mantle  of  their 
Order,  seeming  to  keep  guard  over  their  grand  master, 
who  lay  buried  without  his  head  in  the  stone  sarco- 
phagus, bordered  with  Gothic  mouldings.  Gabriel 
remembered  what  he  had  heard  his  father  relate  about 
the  recumbent  statue  of  Don  Alvaro.  In  former  times 
the  statue  had  been  of  bronze,  and  when  mass  was 
said  in  the  chapel,  at  the  elevation  of  the  Host,  the 
statue,  by  means  of  secret  springs,  would  rise  and 
remain  kneeling  till  the  end  of  the  ceremony.  Some 
said  that  the  Catholic  queen  caused  the  disappearance 
of  this  theatrical  statue,  believing  that  it  disturbed  the 
prayers  of  the  faithful ;  others  said  that  some  soldiers, 
enemies  of  the  constable,  on  a  day  of  disturbance,  had 
broken  in  pieces  the  jointed  statue.  On  the  exterior  of 
the  church  the  chapel  of  the  Lunas  raised  its  battle- 
mented  towers,  forming  an  isolated  fortress  inside  the 
Cathedral. 

In  spite  of  his  family  considering  this  chapel  as  their 
own,  the  seminarist  felt  himself  more  attracted  by  that 
of  Saint  Ildefonso  close  by,  which  contained  the  tomb 
of  the  Cardinal  Albornoz.  Of  all  the  great  past  in  the 
Cathedral,  that  which  excited  his  greatest  admiration 
was  the  romantic  figure  of  this  warlike  prelate  ;  lover  of 
letters,  Spanish  by  birth,  and  Italian  by  his  conquests. 
He  slept  in  a  splendid  marble  tomb,  shining  and 
polished  by  age,  and  of  a  soft  fawn  colour ;  the  invisible 
hand  of  time   had  treated  the   face  of  the  recumbent 


56  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

effigy  rather  roughly,  flattening  the  nose,  and  giving  the 
warHke  cardinal  an  expression  of  almost  Mongolian 
ferocity.  Four  lions  guarded  the  remains  of  the  prelate. 
Everything  in  him  was  extraordinary  and  adventurous 
even  to  his  death.  His  body  was  brought  back  from 
Italy  to  Spain  with  prayers  and  hymns,  carried  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  entire  population,  who  went  out  to 
meet  it  in  order  to  gain  the  indulgences  granted  by  the 
Pope.  This  return  journey  to  his  own  country  after  his 
death  lasted  several  months,  as  the  good  cardinal 
only  went  by  short  journeys  from  church  to  church,  pre- 
ceded by  a  picture  of  Christ,  which  now  adorns  his 
chapel,  and  spreading  among  the  multitude  the  sweet 
scent  of  his  embalming. 

For  Don  Gil  de  Albornoz  nothing  seemed  impossible ; 
he  was  the  sword  of  the  Apostle  returned  to  earth  in 
order  to  enforce  faith.  Flying  from  Don  Pedro  the 
Cruel,  he  had  taken  refuge  in  Avignon,  where  lived 
exiles  even  more  illustrious  than  himself.  There  were 
the  Popes  driven  out  of  Rome  by  a  people  who,  in  their 
mediaeval  nightmare,  tried  to  restore  at  the  bidding  of 
Rienzi  the  ancient  republic  of  the  Consuls.  Don  Gil 
was  not  a  man  to  live  long  in  the  pleasant  little  Pro- 
ven9al  court ;  like  a  good  archbishop  of  Toledo,  he 
wore  the  coat-of-mail  underneath  his  tunic,  and  as 
there  were  no  Moors  to  fight  he  wished  to  strike  at 
heretics  instead.  He  went  to  Italy  as  the  champion 
of  the  Church ;  all  the  adventurers  of  Europe  and  the 
bandits  of  the  country  formed  his  army.  He  killed  and 
burnt  in  the  country,  entered  and  sacked  the  towns, 
all  in  the  name  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  so  that  before 
long  the  exile  of  Avignon  was  again  able  to  return  and 
occupy  his  throne  in  Rome.  The  Spanish  cardinal 
after  all  these  campaigns,  which  gave  half  Italy  to  the 
Papacy,  was  as  rich  as  any  king,  and  he  founded  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  57 

celebrated  Spanish  college  in  Bologna.  The  Pope,  well 
aware  of  his  robberies  and  rapacity,  asked  him  to  give 
some  sort  of  accounts.  The  proud  Don  Gil  presented 
him  with  a  cart  laden  with  keys  and  bolts. 

"These,"  said  he  proudly,  "belong  to  the  towns 
and  castles  I  have  gained  for  the  Papacy.  These  are 
my  accounts." 

The  irresistible  glamour  that  a  powerful  warrior 
throws  over  a  man  physically  feeble  was  strongly  felt 
by  Gabriel,  and  it  was  augmented  by  the  thought  that 
so  much  bravery  and  haughtiness  had  been  joined  in  a 
servant  of  the  Church.  Why  could  not  men  like  this 
arise  now,  in  these  impious  times,  to  give  fresh  strength 
to  Catholicism  ? 

In  his  strolls  through  the  Cathedral  Gabriel  greatly 
admired  the  screen  before  the  high  altar,  a  wonderful 
work  of  Villalpando,  with  its  foliage  of  old  gold,  and 
its  black  bars  with  silvery  spots  like  tin.  These  spots 
made  the  beggars  and  guides  in  the  church  declare 
that  all  the  screen  was  made  of  silver,  but  that  the 
canons  had  had  it  painted  black  so  that  it  might  not 
be  plundered  by  Napoleon's  soldiers. 

Behind  it  shone  the  majestic  decorations  of  the  high 
altar,  splendid  with  soft  old  gilding,  and  a  whole  host 
of  figures  under  carved  canopies  representing  various 
scenes  from  the  Passion.  Behind  the  altar  and  the 
screen  the  gilding  seemed  to  spring  spontaneously  from 
the  white  walls,  marking  with  brilliant  lights  the 
divisions  between  the  stalls.  Beneath  highly-decorated 
pointed  arches  were  the  tombs  of  the  most  ancient 
kings  of  Castille,  and  that  of  the  Cardinal  Mendoza. 

Under  the  arches  of  the  triforium  an  orchestra  of 
Gothic  angels  with  stiff  dalmatics  and  folded  wings 
sang  lauds,  playing  lutes  and  flutes,  and  in  the  central 
parts  of  the  pillars  the  statues  of  holy  bishops   were 


58  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

interspersed   with  those    of  historical    and    legendary 
personages. 

On  one  side  the  good  Alfaqui  Abu- Walid,  immortalised 
in  a  Christian  church  for  his  tolerant  spirit,  on  the 
opposite  side  the  mysterious  leader  of  Las  Navas  who, 
after  showing  the  Christians  the  way  to  victory,  suddenly 
disappeared  like  a  divine  envoy — a  statue  of  exceeding 
ugliness  with  a  haggard  face  covered  by  a  rough  hood. 
At  either  end  of  the  screen  .stood  as  evidences  of  the 
past  opulence  of  the  church  two  beautiful  pulpits  of 
rich  marbles  and  chiselled  bronze. 

Gabriel  cast  a  glance  at  the  choir,  admiring  the 
beautiful  stalls  belonging  to  the  canons,  and  he  thought 
enthusiastically  that  perhaps  some  day  he  might  succeed 
in  gaining  one  to  the  great  pride  of  his  family.  In  his 
wanderings  about  the  church  he  would  often  stop  before 
the  immense  fresco  of  Saint  Christopher,  a  picture  as 
bad  as  it  was  huge — a  figure  occupying  all  one  divi- 
sion of  the  wall  from  the  pavement  to  the  cornice,  and 
which  by  its  size  seemed  to  be  the  only  fitting  inhabitant 
of  the  church.  The  cadets  would  come  in  the  evenings 
to  look  at  it ;  that  colossus  of  pink  flesh,  bearing  the 
child  on  its  shoulders,  advancing  its  angular  legs  care- 
fully through  the  waters,  leaning  on  a  palm  tree  that 
looked  like  a  broom,  was  for  them  by  far  the  most 
noticeable  thing  in  the  church.  The  light-hearted 
young  men  delighted  in  measuring  its  ankles  with  their 
swords  and  afterwards  calculating  how  many  swords 
high  the  blessed  giant  could  be.  It  was  the  readiest 
appHcation  that  they  could  make  of  those  mathematical 
calculations  with  which  they  were  so  much  worried  in 
the  academy.  The  apprentice  of  the  church  was 
irritated  at  the  impudence  with  which  these  dressed  up 
popinjays,  the  apprentices  of  war,  sauntered  about  the 
church. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  59 

Many  mornings  he  would  go  to  the  Muzarabe  Chapel, 
following  attentively  the  ancient  ritual/  intoned  by  the 
priests  especially  devoted  to  it.  On  the  walls  were 
represented  in  brilliant  colours  scenes  from  the  conquest 
of  Oran  by  the  great  Cisneros.  As  Gabriel  listened  to 
the  monotonous  singing  of  the  Muzarabe  priests  he 
remembered  the  quarrels  during  the  time  of  Alfonso  VI. 
between  the  Roman  liturgy  and  that  of  Toledo — the 
foreign  worship  and  the  national  one.  The  believers, 
to  end  the  eternal  disputes,  appealed  to  the  "  Judgment 
of  God."  The  king  named  the  Roman  champion,  and 
the  Toledans  confided  the  defence  of  their  Gothic  rite 
to  the  sword  of  Juan  Ruiz,  a  nobleman  from  the  borders 
of  Pisuerga.  The  champion  of  the  Gothic  breviary 
remained  triumphant  in  the  fight,  demonstrating  its 
superiority  with  magnificent  sword  thrusts,  but,  in  spite 
of  the  will  of  God  having  been  manifested  in  this  war- 
like way,  the  Roman  rite  by  slow  degrees  became 
master  of  the  situation,  till  at  last  the  Muzarabe  ritual 
was  relegated  to  this  small  chapel  as  a  curious  relic  of 
the  past. 

Sometimes  in  the  evenings,  when  the  services  were 
ended  and  the  Cathedral  was  locked  up,  Gabriel  would 
go  up  to  the  abode  of  the  bell-ringer,  stopping  on  the 
galler}'  above  the  door  del  Perdon.  Mariano,  the  bell- 
ringer's  son,  a  youth  of  the  same  age  as  the  seminarist, 
and  attached  to  him  by  the  respect  and  admiration 
his  talents  inspired,  would  act  as  guide  in  their  excur- 
sions to  the  upper  regions  of  the  church ;  they  would 
possess  themselves  of  the  key  of  the  vaultings  and 
explore  that  mysterious  locality  to  w^hich  only  a  few 
workmen  ascended  from  time  to  time. 


*  The  Muzarabe  ritual  is  still  sung  in  Arabic  both  in  Toledo  and 
Salamanca. 


6o  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  Cathedral  was  ugly  and  commonplace  seen 
from  above.  In  the  very  early  days  the  stone  vaultings 
had  remained  uncovered,  with  no  other  concealment 
beyond  the  light-looking  carved  balustrade,  but  the 
rain  had  begun  to  damage  them,  threatening  their 
destruction,  and  so  the  Chapter  had  covered  the 
Cathedral  with  a  roof  of  brown  tiles,  which  gave  the 
Church  the  appearance  of  a  huge  warehouse  or  a  great 
barn.  The  pinnacles  of  the  buttresses  seemed  ashamed 
to  appear  above  this  ugly  covering,  the  flying  buttresses 
became  lost  and  disappeared  among  the  bare-looking 
buildings,  built  on  to  the  Cathedral,  and  the  little 
staircase  turrets  became  hidden  behind  this  clumsy 
mass  of  roofing. 

The  two  youths  climbing  along  the  cornices,  green 
and  slippery  from  the  rain,  would  mount  to  quite  the 
upper  parts  of  the  building.  Their  feet  would  become 
entangled  in  the  plants  that  a  luxuriant  nature  allowed 
to  grow  amid  the  joints  of  the  stones,  flocks  of  birds 
would  fly  away  at  their  approach ;  all  the  sculptures 
seemed  to  serve  as  resting-places  for  their  nests,  and 
every  hollow  in  the  stone  where  the  rain-water  collected 
was  a  miniature  lake  where  the  birds  came  to  drink  ; 
sometimes  a  large  black  bird  would  settle  on  one 
of  the  pinnacles  like  an  unexpected  finial ;  it  was 
a  raven  who  settled  there  to  plume  his  wings,  and 
it  would  remain  there  sunning  itself  for  hours;  to 
the  people  who  saw  it  from  below  it  appeared  about  the 
size  of  a  fly. 

These  vaultings  caused  Gabriel  a  strange  impression  ; 
no  one  could  guess  the  existence  of  such  a  place  in 
the  upper  regions  of  the  building.  He  would  walk 
through  the  forest  of  worm-eaten  posts  which  supported 
the  roof,  through  narrow  passages  between  the  cupolas 
of  the  vaulting  that  arose  from  the  flooring  like  white 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  6i 

and  dusty  tumours  ;  sometimes  there  would  be  a  shaft 
through  which  he  could  see  down  into  the  Cathedral, 
the  depth  of  which  made  him  giddy.  These  shafts  were 
like  narrow  well-mouths  at  the  bottom  of  which  could 
be  seen  people  walking  like  ants  on  the  tile  flooring  of  the 
church.  Through  these  shafts  were  lowered  the  ropes 
of  the  great  chandeliers,  and  the  golden  chains  that 
supported  the  figure  of  Christ  above  the  railing  of  the 
high  altar.  Enormous  capstans  showed  through  the 
twilight  their  cogged  and  rusty  wheels,  their  levers 
and  ropes  like  forgotten  instruments  of  torture.  This 
was  the  hidden  machinery  belonging  to  the  great 
religious  festivals ;  by  these  artifices  the  magnificent 
canopy  of  the  holy  week  was  raised  and  fastened. 

As  the  sun's  rays  shone  in  between  the  wooden 
posts  the  dust  of  ages  that  lay  like  a  thick  mantle 
on  the  roof  of  the  vaulting  would  rise  and  dance 
in  them  for  a  few  seconds,  and  the  huge  old  spiders' 
webs  would  wave  like  fans  in  the  wind,  while  the 
footsteps  of  the  intruders  would  occasion  wild  and 
precipitous  scrambles  of  rats  from  all  the  dark  corners. 
In  the  furthest  and  darkest  corners  roosted  those  black 
birds  who  by  night  flew  down  into  the  church  through 
the  shafts  in  the  vaulting,  and  the  eyes  of  the  owls 
glowed  with  phosphorescent  brilliancy,  while  the  bats 
flew  sleepily  about  sweeping  the  faces  of  the  lads  with 
their  wings. 

The  bell-ringer's  son  would  examine  the  deposits 
dropped  in  the  dust,  and  would  enumerate  all  the 
different  birds  who  took  refuge  in  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  of  stone :  this  belonged  to  the  hooting  owl, 
and  that  to  the  red  owl,  and  this  again  to  the  raven, 
and  he  spoke  with  respect  of  a  certain  nest  of  eagles 
that  his  father  had  seen  as  a  young  man,  fierce  birds 
who  had  endeavoured  to  tear  out  his  eyes,  and  who 


62  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

had  so  thoroughly  frightened  him  that  he  had  been 
obhged  to  borrow  the  gun  belonging  to  the  night 
watchers  on  each  occasion  that  his  duties  took  him 
to  the  roof. 

Gabriel  loved  that  strange  world,  harbouring  above 
the  Cathedral  with  its  silence  and  its  imposing  solitude. 
It  was  a  wilderness  of  wood,  inhabited  by  strange 
creatures  who  lived  unnoticed  and  forgotten  under  the 
roof-tree  of  the  church.  Truly  the  good  God  had  a  house 
for  the  faithful  down  below,  and  an  immense  garret 
above  for  the  creatures  of  the  air. 

The  savage  solitude  of  the  higher  regions  was  a  great 
contrast  to  the  wealth  of  the  chapel  of  the  Ochava, 
full  of  relics  in  golden  vessels  and  caskets  of  enamel 
and  precious  marbles,  to  the  quantities  of  pearls  and 
emeralds  in  the  magnificent  treasury,  heaped  up  as 
though  they  had  been  peas,  and  to  the  elegant  luxury 
of  the  wardrobe,  full  of  rare  and  costly  stuffs  and 
vestments  exquisitely  embroidered  with  every  colour 
of  the  rainbow. 

Gabriel  was  just  eighteen  when  he  lost  his  father. 
The  old  gardener  died  quietly,  happy  in  seeing  all 
his  family  in  the  service  of  the  Cathedral  and  the 
good  old  tradition  of  the  Lunas  continued  without 
interruption.  Thomas,  the  eldest  son,  remained  in  the 
garden,  Esteban,  after  serving  many  years  as  acolyte 
and  assistant  to  the  sacristans,  was  Silenciario,  and 
had  been  given  the  Wooden  Staff  and  seven  reals  a  day, 
the  height  of  all  his  ambition ;  and  as  far  as  regarded 
the  youngest,  the  good  Senor  Esteban  had  the  firm 
conviction  that  he  had  begotten  a  Father  of  the  Church, 
for  whom  a  place  in  heaven  was  especially  reserved 
at  the  right  hand  of  God  Omnipotent. 

Gabriel  had  acquired  in  the  seminary  that  ecclesiastic 
sternness   that  turns  the  priest   into   a  warrior   more 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  63 

intent  on  the  interest  of  the  Church  than  on  the 
concerns  of  his  family.  For  this  reason  he  did  not  feel 
the  death  of  his  father  very  greatly ;  besides,  much 
greater  misfortunes  soon  occurred  to  preoccupy  the 
young  seminarist. 


CHAPTER   III 

There  was  great  excitement  both  in  the  Cathedral 
and  in  the  seminary,  everyone  discussing  from  morning 
till  night  the  news  from  Madrid,  for  these  were  the 
days  of  the  September  revolution.  The  traditional  and 
healthy  Spain,  the  Spain  of  the  great  historical  tradition 
had  fallen.  The  Cortes  Constituyentes  were  a  volcano, 
a  breath  from  the  infernal  regions,  to  those  gentlemen 
of  the  black  cassock  who  crowded  round  the  unfolded 
newspaper,  and,  if  they  found  comfort  and  satisfaction 
in  a  speech  of  Maesterola's  they  would  suffer  the  agonies 
of  death  at  the  revolutionary  harangues,  which  dealt 
such  terrible  blows  at  the  olden  days.  The  clergy  had 
turned  their  eyes  towards  Don  Carlos,  who  was 
beginning  the  war  in  the  northern  provinces;  the  king 
of  the  Vascongados^  mountains  would  be  able  to  remedy 
everything  when  he  came  down  into  the  plains  of 
Castille.  But  years  passed  by,  Amadeus  had  come  and 
gone,  they  had  even  proclaimed  a  republic  !  And  yet 
the  cause  of  God  did  not  seem  to  advance  much,  and 
Heaven  seemed  deaf.  A  republican  deputy  proclaimed 
a  war  against  God,  challenging  Him  to  silence  him ; 
and  so  impiety  stalked  along  immune  and  triumphant, 
and  its  eloquence  flowed  abroad  like  a  poisonous 
spring. 

Gabriel  lived  in  a  state  of  bellicose  excitement — he 

'  Provinces  of  Alava,  Guipuscoa,  and  the  lordship  of  Biscay. 


THE    SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL    65 

forgot  his  books,  he  disregarded  his  future,  he  never 
thought  now  of  singing  his  mass.  What  would  happen 
to  his  career  now  that  the  Church  was  in  peril,  and 
that  the  sleepy  poetry  of  past  ages,  that  had  enveloped 
him  from  his  cradle  like  a  perfumed  cloud  of  old 
incense  and  dried  roses,  was  on  the  point  of  vanishing  ? 

Often  some  of  the  pupils  disappeared  from  the 
seminary,  and  the  professors  would  reply  to  the 
inquiries  of  the  curious  with  a  sly  wink. 

**  They  have  gone  out — with  the  good  sort.  They 
could  not  seequietly  what  was  happening — 'child's  play,' 
'follies.'" 

But  nevertheless  such  follies  made  them  smile  with 
paternal  satisfaction. 

He  thought  to  be  himself  among  those  who  fled,  as 
the  world  seemed  to  be  coming  to  an  end.  In  certain 
towns  the  revolutionar}'  mob  had  invaded  and  profaned 
the  churches ;  as  yet  they  had  not  murdered  any  of  the 
ministers  of  God  as  in  other  revolutions,  but  still  the 
priests  were  unable  to  go  about  the  streets  in  their 
cassocks  for  fear  of  being  hooted  and  insulted.  The 
remembrance  of  the  archbishops  of  Toledo,  those 
brave  ecclesiastical  princes,  implacable  warriors  against 
the  infidels,  fired  his  warlike  feelings.  As  yet  he  had 
never  been  away  from  Toledo,  away  from  the  shadow 
of  its  Cathedral ;  Spain  seemed  to  him  as  vast  as  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  put  together,  and  he  began  to  feel 
the  ardent  desire  of  seeing  something  new,  of  seeing 
closer  all  the  wonderful  things  he  had  read  about  in  his 
books,  stirring  within  him. 

One  day  he  kissed  his  mother's  hand,  without  feeling 
any  very  great  emotion  towards  the  trembling  and 
nearly  blind  old  woman,  for  the  seminary  had  for  him 
more  tender  memories  than  the  house  of  his  fathers, 
smoked  his  last  cigar  with  his  brothers  in  the  garden, 

c.        .  F 


66  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

without  revealing  his  intentions  to  them,  and  that  night 
he  fled  from  Toledo  with  a  scapulary  of  the  Heart  of 
Jesus  sewed  into  his  waistcoat,  and  a  beautiful  silk  scarf 
in  his  wallet,  one  of  those  worked  by  white  hands  in 
the  convents  of  the  city.  The  son  of  the  bell-ringer 
went  with  him.  They  joined  one  of  the  insignificant 
bands  who  were  devastating  Murcia,  but  they  soon  went 
on  to  Valencia  and  Catalonia,  anxious  to  perform 
greater  exploits  for  the  cause  of  God  than  merely 
stealing  mules  and  extorting  contributions  from  the 
rich. 

Gabriel  felt  an  intense  delight  in  this  wandering  life, 
with  its  continual  alarms  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the 
troops. 

He  had  been  made  an  officer  at  once,  on  account  of 
his  education,  and  because  of  the  letters  of  recommenda- 
tion that  certain  of  the  prebends  of  the  Metropolitan 
Church  had  given  him  ;  letters  lamenting  greatly  that  a 
3'outh  of  so  much  theological  promise  should  go  and 
risk  his  life  like  a  simple  sacristan. 

Luna  enjoyed  the  free  and  lawless  life  of  war  with 
the  zest  of  a  collegian  out  of  bounds ;  but  he  could  not 
hide  the  feeling  of  painful  disillusion  that  the  sight  of 
those  armies  of  the  Faith  caused  him.  He  had  expected 
to  find  something  akin  to  the  ancient  crusading  expedi- 
tions: soldiers  who  fought  for  an  ideal,  who  bent  the 
knee  before  beginning  the  fight,  so  that  God  might  be 
on  their  side,  and  who  at  night,  after  a  hard-fought 
field,  slept  the  pure  sleep  of  an  ascetic  ;  instead  of 
which  he  found  an  armed  mob,  mutinous  to  their 
leaders,  incapable  of  that  fanaticism  which  rushes  blind- 
fold to  death,  anxious  only  that  the  war  might  last  as 
long  as  possible,  so  that  they  might  continue  the  life  of 
lawless  wandering  at  the  expense  of  the  countrv',  which 
they  considered  the  best  life  possible ;  people  who  at 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  67 

the  sight  of  wine,  women    or  plunder  would  disband 
themselves,  hungering,  turning  against  their  leaders. 

It  was  the  ancient  life  of  the  horde,  surging  up 
through  civilisation,  the  atavic  custom  of  stealing  the 
stranger's  bread  and  women  by  force  of  arms,  the 
ancient  Celtiberic  love  of  factions  and  internal  strife, 
that  only  caught  hold  of  a  political  pretext  in  order  to 
revive. 

Gabriel,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  found  none  in 
those  badly-armed  and  worse-clothed  bands  who  fought 
with  a  fixed  idea ;  they  were  adventurers  who  wished 
for  war  for  the  sake  of  war  ;  visionaries  anxious  for 
fortune  ;  country  lads  from  the  fields,  who  in  their 
passive  ignorance  had  joined  the  factions,  just  as  they 
would  have  stayed  at  home  if  they  had  had  better 
counsels  ;  simple  souls  who  firmly  believed  that  in  the 
towns  they  were  burning  and  destroying  God's  ministers, 
and  who  had  thrown  themselves  into  the  fray  so  that 
society  should  not  lapse  into  barbarism. 

The  common  danger,  the  misery  of  the  interminable 
marches  to  deceive  the  enemy,  the  scarcity  suffered  in 
the  barren  fields  and  on  the  rough  hilltops  on  which 
they  took  refuge,  made  them  all  equals,  enthusiasts, 
sceptics  or  rustics.  They  all  felt  the  same  desire  to 
compensate  themselves  for  their  privations,  to  appease 
the  ravenous  beast  they  felt  inside,  awakened  and  irri- 
tated by  a  life  of  such  sudden  changes  ;  as  much  by  the 
wild  abundance  and  plundering  of  a  sack  as  by  the 
distress  endured  in  the  long  marches  over  interminable 
plains  without  ever  seeing  the  slightest  sign  of  life.  On 
entering  a  town  they  would  shout,  "  Long  live  religion," 
but  on  the  slightest  provocation  they  would  do  this,  that 
and  the  other  in  the  name  of  God  and  all  the  saints,  not 
omitting  in  their  filthy  oaths  to  swear  by  everything 
most  sacred  in  that  same  religion, 

F   2 


68  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Gabriel,  who  soon  became  accustomed  to  this  wan- 
dering Hfe,  ceased  to  feel  shocked.  The  former  scruples 
of  the  seminarist  vanished,  smothered  under  the  crust 
of  the  fighting  man,  which  became  hardened  with  war. 

The  romantic  figure  of  Dona  Blanca,  the  king's  sister- 
in-law  passed  before  him,  like  a  person  in  a  novel ;  in 
her  romantic  energy  this  princess  wished  to  emulate 
the  deeds  of  the  heroines  of  La  Vendee,  and  mounted 
on  a  small  white  horse,  her  pistol  in  her  belt,  and  the 
white  scarf  tied  over  her  floating  tresses,  she  put  herself 
at  the  head  of  these  armed  bands,  who  revived  in  the 
centre  of  the  Peninsula  the  strife  of  almost  prehistoric 
times.  The  flutter  of  the  dark  riding-habit  of  this 
heroine  served  as  a  standard  to  the  battalions  of 
Zouaves,  to  the  troop  of  French,  German,  and  Italian 
adventurers,  the  scum  of  all  the  wars  on  the  globe,  who 
found  it  pleasanter  to  follow  a  woman  anxious  for  fame 
than  to  enlist  themselves  into  the  foreign  legion  of 
Algeria. 

The  assault  of  Cuenca,  the  sole  victory-  of  the  cam- 
paign, made  a  deep  impression  on  Gabriel's  memory ; 
the  troops  of  men  wearing  the  scarf,  after  they  had 
knocked  down  the  ramparts  as  weak  as  mud  walls, 
rushed  like  overflowing  streams  through  the  streets. 
The  firing  from  the  windows  could  not  stop  them  ;  they 
rushed  in  pale,  with  discoloured  lips  and  eyes  brilliant 
with  homicidal  mania,  the  danger  overcome,  and  the 
knowledge  that  they  w^ere  at  length  masters  of  the  place 
drove  them  mad  ;  the  doors  of  the  houses  fell  under 
their  blows,  terrified  men  rushed  out  to  be  pierced  with 
bayonets  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  houses  you  could 
see  women  struggling  in  the  arms  of  the  assailants, 
striking  them  in  the  face  with  one  hand,  while  with  the 
other  they  struggled  to  retain  their  clothes. 

Gabriel  saw  how  the  roughest  of  the  mountaineers 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  69 

destroyed  in  the  Institute  all  the  apparatus  of  the 
Cabinet  of  Physical  Science,  breaking  it  in  pieces.  They 
were  furious  with  these  inventions  of  the  evil  one,  with 
which  they  thought  the  unbelievers  communicated  with 
the  Government  of  Madrid,  and  they  smashed  on  the 
ground  with  the  butt  ends  of  their  muskets,  and  trampled 
with  their  feet,  all  the  gilt  wheels  of  the  apparatus,  and 
all  the  discs  and  batteries  of  electricity. 

The  seminarist  was  delighted  at  all  this  destruction  ; 
he  also  hated,  but  it  was  with  a  calm,  reflective  hate  bred  in 
the  seminary,  all  positive  and  material  sciences,  for  the 
sum  total  of  his  reasoning  was  that  they  came  perilously 
near  to  the  negation  of  God;  those  sons  of  the  mountains 
in  their  blessed  ignorance,  had  without  knowing  it  done 
a  great  deed.  Ah  !  if  only  the  whole  nation  would  imitate 
them !  In  former  times  there  were  none  of  these 
ridiculous  inventions  of  science,  and  Spain  was  far 
happier.  To  live  a  holy  life,  the  learning  of  the  priests 
and  the  ignorance  of  the  people  was  sufficient,  for  both 
together  produced  a  blessed  tranquillity;  what  did  they 
want  more  ?  For  so  the  country  had  existed  for 
centuries,  all  through  the  most  glorious  period  of  its 
existence. 

The  war  came  to  an  end,  the  closely  pursued  rebels 
passed  through  the  centre  of  Catalonia  and  were  finally 
driven  over  the  frontier,  where  they  were  compelled  to 
give  up  their  arms  to  the  French  custom-house  officers. 
Many  availed  themselves  of  the  amnesty,  anxious  to 
return  to  their  own  homes.  Mariano,  the  bell-ringer, 
was  one  of  these.  He  did  not  wish  to  live  in  a  foreign 
land ;  besides,  during  his  absence  his  father  had  died, 
and  it  was  extremely  probable  that  he  might  succeed  to 
the  charge  of  the  Cathedral  tower  if  he  laid  due  stress 
on  the  merits  of  his  family,  his  three  years'  campaigning 
for  the  sake  of  religion,  and  a  wound  he  had  received  in 


70  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

his  leg ;  he  would  really  be  able  to  compare  himself 
with  the  martyrs  for  Christianity. 

Gabriel  preferred  emif^aation.  "  He  was  an  officer  and 
therefore  could  not  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  a 
usurping  dynasty."  This  declaration  he  made  with  all 
the  pride  learnt  in  this  caricature  of  an  army,  which 
emphasised  all  the  ceremonies  of  ancient  warfare,  and 
who,  ragged  and  shoeless  as  they  were,  with  their 
swords  by  their  sides,  never  failed  to  transmit  orders  to 
each  other  as  "  high-born  officer."  But  the  real  reason 
which  prevented  Luna  from  returning  to  Toledo  was 
that  he  wished  to  follow  the  course  of  events,  to  see  new 
countries  and  different  customs.  To  return  to  the 
Cathedral  would  mean  to  remain  there  for  ever,  to 
renounce  everything  in  life,  and  he,  who  during  the  war 
had  tasted  of  worldly  delights,  had  no  desire  to  turn  his 
back  on  them  quite  so  soon  ;  also  he  was  not  yet  of  age, 
so  he  had  plenty  of  time  before  him  in  which  to  finish 
his  studies ;  the  priesthood  was  a  sure  retreat,  but  one 
to  which  he  was  in  no  hurry  to  return  just  at  present ; 
besides,  his  mother  was  dead,  and  his  brother's  letters 
told  him  of  no  alteration  in  the  sleepy  life  of  the  upper 
cloister,  beyond  that  the  gardener  was  m9.rried  and  that 
the  "Wooden  Staff"  was  courting  a  girl  in  the  Claverias, 
it  being  against  all  the  good  traditions  of  these  people 
to  ally  themselves  with  anyone  outside  the  Cathedral. 

Luna  lived  for  more  than  a  year  in  the  emigrants' 
cantonments  ;  his  classical  education  and  the  sympathy 
aroused  by  his  youth  smoothed  his  path  to  a  certain 
extent ;  he  talked  Latin  with  the  French  abbes,  who  were 
delighted  to  hear  about  the  war  from  the  young  theolo- 
gian, and  at  the  same  time  they  taught  him  the  language 
of  the  country.  These  friends  procured  for  him  Spanish 
lessons  among  the  upper  middle  classes  who  were 
friendlv  to  the  Church.   In  these  days  of  penury  he  was 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  71 

saved  by  his  friendship  with  an  old  legitimist  Countess, 
who  invited  him  to  spend  several  days  in  her  country 
house,  introducing  the  warlike  seminarist  to  all  the 
grave  and  pious  friends  at  her  assemblies  as  though  he 
had  been  a  crusader  newly  returned  from  Palestine. 

Gabriel's  great  desire  was  to  go  to  Paris ;  his  life  in 
France  had  radically  changed  his  ideas,  he  really  felt  as 
though  he  had  fallen  into  a  new  planet.  Accustomed 
to  the  monotonous  life  in  the  seminary,  and  to  the 
nomadic  existence  during  that  mountainous  and  in- 
glorious war,  he  was  astonished  at  the  material  progress, 
the  refinement  of  civilisation,  the  culture  and  the  well- 
being  of  the  people  in  France.  He  remembered  now 
with  shame  his  Spanish  ignorance,  all  that  Castilian 
phantasmagoria,  fed  by  lying  literature,  that  had  made 
him  believe  that  Spain  was  the  first  country  in  the 
world,  and  its  people  the  noblest  and  bravest,  and  that 
all  the  other  nations  were  a  sort  of  wretched  mob, 
created  by  God  to  be  victims  of  heresy,  and  to  receive 
overwhelming  punishment  each  time  that  they  ventured 
to  interfere  with  this  privileged  country,  which,  though 
it  eats  little  and  drinks  less,  has  yet  produced  the  holiest 
saints  and  the  greatest  captains  of  Christendom. 

When  Gabriel  could  express  himself  fluently  in 
French  and  had  contrived  to  save  a  few  francs  for  his 
journey,  he  went  to  Paris.  A  friendly  abbe  had  procured 
him  employment  as  corrector  of  proofs  in  a  religious 
library'  close  to  Saint  Sulpice.  In  this  priestly  quarter 
of  Paris,  with  its  hostels  for  the  clergy  and  for  religious 
families,  as  gloomy  as  convents,  with  its  shops  full  of 
pious  images,  which  flood  the  globe  with  varnished  and 
smiling  saints,  was  accomplished  the  great  transforma- 
tion of  Gabriel. 

This  quarter  of  Saint  Sulpice  with  its  streets  almost 
Spanish   in    their   silence   and   peacefulness,  with   the 


72  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

sisters  in  black  veils  gliding  by  the  walls  of  the  seminary, 
drawn  by  the  sound  of  the  bells,  was  for  the  Spanish 
seminarist  what  the  road  to  Damascus  had  been  for  the 
Apostle.  The  French  Catholicism,  cultivated,  reason- 
ing and  respectful  to  human  progress,  bewildered  Gabriel, 
(vhose  fierce  Spanish  bigotry  had  taught  him  to  despise 
all  profane  science.  There  was  only  one  true  learning  in 
the  world,  and  that  was  theology.  The  other  sciences 
were  only  toys,  only  fit  to  amuse  the  eternal  infancy  of 
humanity.  To  know  God  and  to  meditate  on  the 
greatness  of  His  power,  this  was  the  only  serious  study 
to  which  men  could  devote  themselves ;  machinery, 
the  discoveries  of  the  positive  sciences,  in  fact  every- 
thing which  did  not  treat  of  divinity  and  the  future  life, 
was  only  a  bagatelle  for  the  amusement  of  fools  and 
people  of  no  faith. 

The  former  seminarist,  who  from  his  earliest  child- 
hood had  despised  all  human  progress,  was  stupefied 
when  he  perceived  how  earnestly  all  French  Catholicism 
spoke  of  it.  In  correcting  the  proofs  of  so  many  reli- 
gious works  he  could  not  but  notice  the  profound 
respect  which  this  despised  science  inspired  in  the  good 
French  priests,  men  of  such  far  superior  culture  to  that 
of  the  canons  down  there.  And  moreover  he  noticed 
a  certain  humble  shrinking  in  the  representatives  of 
religion  when  they  cameface  to  face  with  science — a  desire 
to  please,  not  to  be  censorious,  to  help  on  with  their 
sympathy  any  conciliatory  solutions,  so  that  dogma 
should  not  fall  to  the  ground,  finding  no  place  in  the 
rapid  march  of  events  that  was  hurrying  humanity  into 
the  future  with  the  whirl  of  its  new  discoveries.  Entire 
books  were  written  by  eminent  priests  with  the  view  of 
adjusting  and  bringing  into  line  the  revelations  of  the 
holy  books  and  the  discoveries  of  modern  science,  even 
at  the  risk  of  doing  some  violence  to  the  former.     The 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  73 

ancient  and  venerable  Church  that  Gabriel  had  seen  in 
his  own  country,  immovable  in  its  antiquated  majesty, 
unwiUing  to  move  a  single  fold  of  its  mantle  for  fear 
of  losing  some  of  the  dust  of  ages,  was  stirring  in 
France,  endeavouring  to  renew  itself,  throwing  on  one 
side  the  ancient  garments  of  tradition,  like  old  rags  that 
would  turn  it  into  ridicule,  and  stretching  out  its  hands 
with  almost  despairing  strength  to  catch  hold  of  the 
modern  achievements  of  science ;  the  great  enemy  of 
yesterday,  whose  appearance  had  been  ushered  in  with 
bonfires  and  shameful  abjurationswas  triumphant  to-day. 

What  had  that  fatal  apple  of  Paradise  contained,  that 
after  six  thousand  years  of  malediction  that  same  Church 
had  begun  to  venerate  it,  striving  to  make  it  forget  its 
ancient  persecutions  ?  Why  was  religion,  firm  as  a  rock 
throughout  the  centuries,  which  had  defied  persecutions, 
schisms  and  wars,  beginning  to  dissolve  before  the  dis- 
coveries of  a  few  men,  and  entering  into  that  wild  current 
which  sought  for  the  cause  and  explanation  of  every- 
thing ?  If  it  had  the  secular  support  of  faith,  why  should 
it  seek  the  assistance  of  reason  to  maintain  its  traditions 
and  to  justify  its  dogmas  ? 

Gabriel  felt  the  same  fever  of  curiosity  which  had 
obliged  him  as  a  child  to  bend  his  back  over  the  old 
volumes,  bound  in  parchment,  in  the  library  of  the 
seminary ;  he  wished  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
mysterious  perfume  of  that  hated  science  which  had  so 
disturbed  God's  priests,  and  had  made  them  indirectly 
deny  the  beliefs  of  nineteen  centuries.  He  wished  to 
know  why  the  sacred  books  were  being  dislocated  and 
tortured  in  order  to  explain  by  geological  periods  the 
creation  which  God  had  accomplished  in  six  days. 
What  danger  did  they  hope  to  avoid  by  making  the 
divinity  appear  before  science  in  order  to  explain  its 
acts    and   fit   them    into  the  decisions  of  the   latter  ? 


74  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Whence  came  the  instinctive  fear  of  the  religious 
authors  of  roundly  affirming  miracles  ?  attempting 
instead  to  justify  them  by  intricate  and  tentative 
reasonings,  without  daring  to  adduce  as  the  decisive 
proof  the  incomprehensibility  of  supernatural  prodigies. 

For  the  time  being  Gabriel  abandoned  the  tranquil 
atmosphere  of  the  religious  library.  His  reputation  as  a 
humanist  had  reached  the  ears  of  an  editor  living  near 
the  Sorbonne,  so,  without  leaving  the  left  bank  of  the 
Seine,  he  moved  into  the  Latin  quarter  to  undertake 
the  correction  of  proofs  in  Latin  and  Greek.  He 
earned  in  this  way  twelve  francs  a  day — far  more  than 
those  canons  of  Toledo,  who  formerly  had  appeared  to 
him  as  great  dukes.  He  lived  in  a  small  inn  for 
students  near  to  the  School  of  Medicine,  and  his 
vehement  discussions  at  night  with  his  fellow-lodgers 
over  the  smoke  of  their  pipes  taught  him  as  much  as 
the  books  of  that  hated  science.  Those  students  who 
lent  him  books,  or  who  told  him  of  those  he  should 
search  for  in  his  free  hours,  in  the  library  on  the  hill  of 
Saint  Genevieve,  laughed  like  pagans  at  the  exalted 
ideas  of  the  former  seminarist. 

For  two  years  young  Luna  did  little  else  but  read ; 
now  and  again  he  accompanied  his  friends  in  some 
escapade,  throwing  himself  into  the  free  and  joyous  life 
of  the  Quartier,  wearing  out  the  elbows  of  his  sleeves 
on  the  tables  of  the  beershops.  The  Mimi  of  Murger 
often  passed  before  him,  but  less  melancholy  than  the 
creation  of  the  poet,  and  the  ex-seminarist  found  his 
Sunday  evening  idylls  in  the  woods  surrounding  Paris. 
But  Gabriel  was  not  of  an  amorous  temperament ; 
curiosity  and  the  thirst  for  knowledge  mastered  him, 
and  after  these  escapades  from  which  he  returned 
fresher,  and  with  his  brain  keener,  he  threw  himself 
with  greater  ardour  into  his  studies. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  75 

History,  true  history,  whose  cold  clearness  contrasted 
so  strongly  with  that  intricate  morass  of  miracles  in 
the  chronicles  that  he  had  read  in  his  childhood,  beat 
down  the  greater  part  of  his  beliefs.  Catholicism  was 
no  longer  for  him  the  only  religion,  neither  could  he 
any  longer  divide  the  history  of  humanity  into  two 
periods,  that  before  and  that  after  the  appearance  in 
Judea  of  a  handful  of  obscure  men,  who,  spreading 
themselves  over  the  world,  preached  a  cosmopolitan 
morality  drawn  from  the  maxims  of  Orientals,  and  from 
the  teachings  of  Greek  philosophy. 

Religions  were  for  him  human  inventions,  subject  to 
the  conditions  of  existence  belonging  to  all  organisms, 
its  generous  infancy  capable  of  blind  sacrifices,  its  self- 
contained  and  masterful  manhood,  in  which  the  early 
sweetness  was  changed  by  the  authoritative  imposition 
of  its  power,  and  its  inevitable  age,  with  a  long  agony, 
in  which  the  sick  man,  guessing  his  speedy  end,  clings 
to  life  with  all  the  energy  of  desperation. 

His  faith  in  Catholicism  as  the  only  religion  dis- 
appeared completely;  losing  his  belief  in  dogmas  he 
lost  also,  by  inevitable  logic,  that  belief  in  the  monarchy 
which  had  driven  him  to  fight  in  the  mountains,  and  he 
understood  clearly  now  the  history  of  his  country 
without  prejudices  of  race.  The  foreign  historians 
showed  him  the  sad  fate  of  Spain,  arrested  in  the  most 
critical  period  of  her  development,  when  she  was 
emerging  young  and  strong  during  the  most  fertile 
period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  by  the  fanaticism  of  priests 
and  inquisitors,  and  the  folly  of  some  of  her  kings, 
who,  with  utterly  inadequate  means,  wished  to  revive 
the  empire  of  the  Caesars,  draining  the  country  for 
this  mad  enterprise.  Those  people  who  had  broken 
with  the  Papacy,  turning  their  backs  for  ever  on 
Rome,    were    far    happier   and    more   prosperous  than 


76  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

that  Spain,  which  slept  hke  a  beggar  at  the  door  of 
the  Church. 

At  this  period  of  his  intellectual  development  Gabriel 
had  an  ideal,  and  often  of  an  evening  he  would  leave 
his  work  to  go  and  listen  to  him  for  an  hour  at  the 
College  of  France  :  this  was  Ernest  Renan  ;  Gabriel 
admired  him  for  a  double  reason,  for  his  talent  and  for 
his  history.  The  great  man  had  also  passed  through  a 
seminary,  and  even  now  had  a  priestly  look  as  though 
he  had  suffered  deeply  from  the  pressure  of  the  eccle- 
siastical yoke  ;  he  was  a  rebel,  and  Gabriel  felt  as  though 
he  belonged  to  his  own  family.  "  Truly  the  hammers 
to  destroy  the  temple  are  forged  within  the  temple," 
and  the  law  fatal  to  all  religions  was  being  accomplished, 
when  faith  vanishes,  and  the  multitude  no  longer  feel 
the  fervour  of  early  days, 

Gabriel  was  astonished  to  hear  how  the  teacher  could 
penetrate  the  intellectual  development  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  which  had  served  as  the  basis  of  Christianity, 
as  he  heard  him  demolish  bit  by  bit  the  immense  altar- 
piece,  before  which  humanity  had  knelt  for  over 
nineteen  centuries.  The  Spanish  seminarist  revolted 
against  his  old  faith  with  all  the  impetuosity  of  his 
vehement  temperament.  How  could  he  have  believed 
all  that  and  have  considered  it  the  height  of  human 
wisdom  !  Certainly  Christianity  had  exercised  a  bene- 
ficial influence  at  one  period  of  the  infancy  of  humanity, 
it  had  filled  men's  lives  in  the  Middle  Ages  when  there 
was  little  to  think  of  beyond  religion,  and,  in  a  land 
desolated  by  strife,  there  was  no  other  refuge  for  intel- 
lectual thought  but  the  cathedral  in  the  towns  and  the 
monastery  in  the  country.  "  The  fairs — the  assemblies 
for  business  and  pleasure,"  said  the  master,  "  were 
religious  feasts ;  the  scenic  representations  were  mysteries, 
the  journeys  were  pilgrimages  and  the  wars  crusades.' 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  ^^ 

After  this  the  ways  of  life  divided — religious  life  took  one 
way  and  human  life  the  other.  Art  placed  nature 
above  the  ideal,  and  men  thought  more  of  earth  than  of 
heaven.  Reason  was  born,  and  every  advance  that  it 
made  was  one  step  backward  for  faith,  and  at  last  the 
time  arrived  when  the  clear-sighted,  those  who  were 
anxious  about  the  future,  began  to  ask  themselves  what 
the  new  belief  was  likely  to  be  which  would  replace 
the  moribund  religion.  Luna  had  no  doubts  on  the 
point — it  was  science,  and  science  alone,  which  could 
fill  the  vacuum  caused  by  that  religion  now  dead  for 
ever. 

Influenced  by  the  Hellenism  of  his  master,  which  he 
assimilated  easily,  being  accustomed  to  daily  inter- 
course with  the  Greek  authors,  he  dreamed  that  the 
humanity  of  the  future  would  be  an  immense  Athens, 
an  artistic  and  learned  democracy  governed  by  great 
thinkers,  with  no  strifes  but  those  of  the  mind,  with  no 
ambition  but  that  of  cultivating  the  intellect,  of  gentle 
manners,  and  devoted  to  the  joys  of  the  mind  and  the 
culture  of  reason. 

Of  all  his  old  beliefs,  Gabriel  only  retained  that  of  a 
creative  God  from  a  certain  superstitious  scruple.  His 
ideas  were  rather  disconcerted  by  astronomy,  which 
he  had  taken  up  with  an  almost  childish  eagerness, 
attracted  by  the  charm  of  the  marvellous.  That  infinite 
space  in  which  in  olden  days  legions  of  angels  had 
manoeuvred,  and  which  had  served  the  Virgin  as  a 
pathway  in  her  terrestrial  descents,  he  suddenly  found 
to  be  peopled  with  thousands  of  millions  of  worlds,  and 
the  more  powerful  men's  instruments  became  the  more 
numerous  they  seemed  to  be,  the  distances  being 
infinitely  prolonged  to  immensities  that  were  incon- 
ceivable. Bodies  were  attracted  to  one  another 
travelling  in  space  at  the  rate  of  millions  of  miles  a 


78  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

minute,  and  all  this  cloud  of  worlds  revolved  without 
ever  passing  twice  over  the  same  spot  in  this  immensity 
of  silence,  in  which  fresh  stars,  and  again  others  and 
others,  were  continually  being  discovered  as  the  instru- 
ments of  observation  became  more  perfect. 

This  God  of  Gabriel's  having  lost  the  corporeal  form 
given  to  Him  by  religion,  and  as  divulged  in  the  history 
of  the  creation,  lost  at  once  all  His  attributes,  and  being 
magnified  to  fill  the  infinite  and  being  absorbed  into  it, 
became  so  impalpable  and  subtle  to  the  intellect  as  to 
appear  a  phantasm. 

Nothing  remained  to  Gabriel  of  all  his  ancient  beliefs. 
His  mind  was  like  a  bare  field  over  which  the  whirlwind 
had  passed,  for  his  last  belief,  which  had  remained 
standing  like  a  monolith  in  the  midst  of  ruins,  the  belief 
in  the  history  of  creation,  had  now  fallen. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  the  former  seminarist  to 
remain  inactive  with  his  cargo  of  new  ideas.  He  felt 
obliged  to  believe  in  something,  to  devote  to  the  defence 
of  some  ideal  all  the  faith  in  his  character,  to  make 
some  use  of  that  fervour  of  proselytising  which  had  been 
so  much  admired  in  the  class  of  eloquence  in  the 
seminary,  and  so  revolutionary  sociology  took  possession 
of  him.  First  of  all  it  was  Proudhon  with  his  audacious 
writings,  and  afterwards  the  work  was  completed  by 
some  "  militantes "  who  were  working  in  the  same 
printing  office  as  himself — old  soldiers  of  the  Commune, 
who  had  lately  returned  from  their  exile  in  the  prisons 
of  Oceania,  and  were  renewing  their  campaign  against 
social  organisation  with  an  ardour  increased  tenfold  by 
their  painful  sufferings  and  their  desire  of  vengeance. 
With  them  he  went  to  the  anarchist  meetings ;  there  he 
heard  Reclus  and  Prince  Kropotkine,  and  the  words  of 
the  since  deceased  Miquel  Bakronhine  came  to  him  as 
the  gospel  of  a  Saint  Paul  of  the  future. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  79 

Gabriel  had  met  with  his  new  religion,  and  he  gave 
himself  over  to  it  entirely,  dreaming  of  the  regeneration 
of  humanity  through  its  stomach.  Believing  in  a  future 
life,  misfortunes  gave  the  false  consolation  of  happiness 
after  death  ;  but  all  religion  was  a  lie,  there  was  no 
other  life  but  that  of  the  present,  and  Luna  rose  in 
anger  against  the  social  injustice  that  condemned 
millions  of  beings  to  poverty  and  misery  for  the 
happiness  of  a  few  privileged  thousands.  Authority, 
which  was  the  fount  of  all  evil,  was  to  him  the  greatest 
enemy  ;  it  must  be  destroyed,  but  men  must  be  created 
who  were  capable  of  living  without  masters,  priests  or 
soldiers.  The  natural  gentleness  of  his  character,  and 
the  horror  of  violence  with  which  his  three  years' 
campaigning  had  filled  him,  caused  him  rather  to  draw 
back  from  his  new  companions,  who,  dreaming  of 
hecatombs  from  dynamite  and  the  dagger  to  reform  the 
world,  obliged  him  to  accept  these  new  doctrines  through 
fear.  No ;  he  beHeved  in  the  strength  of  the  "  idea," 
and  in  the  innocent  evolution  of  humanity ;  he  had  only 
to  work  like  the  first  apostles  of  Christianity  certain  of 
the  future,  but  without  hurrying,  to  see  his  ideas  realised ; 
he  had  only  to  fix  his  eyes  on  the  day's  work,  without 
thinking  of  the  long  years  and  centuries  before  it  would 
bear  its  fruit. 

The  ardour  of  his  proselytising  made  him  leave  Paris 
at  the  end  of  five  years.  He  was  anxious  to  see  the 
world,  to  study  for  himself  all  these  social  miseries,  so 
as  to  judge  what  forces  these  disinherited  could  command 
for  their  great  transformation.  Besides,  he  began  to 
find  himself  incommoded  by  the  vigilance  of  the  French 
police,  on  account  of  his  intimacy  with  the  Russian 
students  of  the  Quartier  Latin — young  men  with  cold 
eyes  and  limp  and  dishevelled  hair  who  were  endeavour- 
ing to  implant  in  Paris  the  vengeances  of  Nihilism.     In 


8o    THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

London  he  came  to  know  a  young  Englishwoman  of 
weak  health,  but  burning  like  himself  with  all  the  ardour 
of  revolutionary  propaganda,  who  would  walk  from 
morning  till  night  in  the  lanes  and  surroundings  of  work- 
shops and  laboratories,  distributing  pamphlets  and  printed 
leaflets  that  she  kept  in  a  band-box  that  was  always 
hanging  on  her  arm.  In  a  short  time  Lucy  became 
Gabriel's  companion  ;  they  loved  each  other  without 
excitement,  with  a  cold  and  quiet  passion,  more  from 
community  of  ideas  than  anything  else,  for  the  love  of 
revolutionists,  dominated  with  the  thought  of  rebellion 
against  ever^'thing  existing,  has  not  much  room  for  any 
other  feeling. 

Luna  and  his  companion  went  to  Holland  and  thence 
to  Belgium,  settling  afterwards  in  Germany,  always 
travelling  from  group  to  group  of  "  companions,"  taking 
up  different  work  with  that  facility  of  adaptation  which 
seems  universal  among  revolutionaries,  who  wander 
over  the  world  penniless,  enduring  every  sort  of  priva- 
tion, but  finding  always  in  their  difficulties  some 
brotherly  hand  to  raise  them  and  set  them  again  on 
the  path. 

After  eight  years  of  this  life  Gabriel's  friend  died  of 
consumption.  They  were  then  in  Italy,  and  Luna,finding 
himself  alone,  understood  for  the  first  time  how  much 
support  the  gentle  companion  of  his  life  had  given  him. 
In  his  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  Lucy  he  forgot  for  a  while 
his  revolutionary  enthusiasm,  lamenting  only  the  void 
left  in  his  Hfe.  He  had  not  loved  her  as  most  men  love, 
but  she  was  his  companion,  his  sister,  they  were  alike 
in  their  pleasures  and  their  sorrows,  and  their  common 
poverty  had  welded  them  into  one  will.  Moreover, 
Gabriel  felt  himself  aged  before  his  time  by  this  life  of 
soul-stirring  adventures  and  painful  privations.  He 
had  been  imprisoned  in  many  places  in  Europe,  being 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  8i 

suspected  of  complicity  with  the  terrorists,  he  had  often 
been  beaten  by  the  police,  and  he  began  to  find  a 
difficulty  in  travelling  about  the  Continent,  as  his 
photograph  figured  with  that  of  several  other  "  com- 
panions "  in  the  central  police  offices  of  the  principal 
nations.  He  was  a  vagabond  and  dangerous  dog,  who 
would  end  by  being  kicked  out  of  every  place. 

Gabriel  could  not  live  alone  ;  he  was  accustomed  to 
see  those  kind  blue  eyes  near  him,  and  to  hear  the 
caressing  voice  with  its  bird-like  inflexions  which  had 
so  much  encouraged  him  in  times  of  trial  and  difficulty, 
and  he  could  not  endure  the  solitude  in  a  strange  land 
after  Lucy's  death.  A  great  longing  for  his  native  land 
awoke  in  him,  he  wished  to  return  to  Spain,  to  that 
land  he  had  so  often  ridiculed,  and  which  now  in  spite 
of  its  backwardness  seemed  to  him  so  attractive.  He 
thought  of  his  brothers,  fixed  like  plants  to  the  stones 
of  the  Cathedral,  never  interesting  themselves  with 
what  took  place  in  the  world,  never  seeking  for  news  of 
him,  as  though  they  had  entirely  forgotten  him. 

With  a  sudden  impulse,  as  though  he  were  afraid  of 
dying  away  from  his  native  land,  he  returned  to  Spain. 
In  Barcelona  some  of  the  "companions  "  had  obtained 
for  him  the  management  of  a  printing  press,  but  before 
taking  up  his  post  he  wished  to  spend  a  few  days  in 
Toledo.  He  returned  an  old  man,  though  he  was 
barely  forty,  speaking  four  or  five  languages,  and 
poorer  than  when  he  had  left  it.  He  found  that  his 
brother  the  gardener  had  died,  and  that  the  widow  and 
her  son  had  taken  refuge  in  a  garret  in  the  Claverias, 
where  she  supported  herself  by  washing  the  canon's 
linen.  Esteban,the  "Wooden  Staff,"  received  him  with 
the  same  admiration  he  had  felt  for  him  while  in  the 
seminary.  He  talked  a  great  deal  about  his  travels, 
gathering  together  all  the  people  in  the  upper  cloister, 

C.  G 


82  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

so  that  they  should  hsten  to  this  man  who  had  travelled 
all  over  the  world,  just  as  though  he  were  going  about 
his  own  house.  In  their  inquiries  they  painfully 
entangled  geography,  as  they  could  only  comprehend 
two  divisions  in  it,  the  countries  of  heretics,  and  the 
countries  of  Christians. 

Gabriel  pitied  the  great  poverty  of  these  people,  and 
admired  the  humbleness  of  these  Cathedral  servants, 
content  to  live  and  die  in  the  same  place,  without  any 
curiousity  as  to  what  was  taking  place  outside  the  walls. 
The  church  seemed  to  him  a  huge  derelict.  It  was 
like  the  petrified  skeleton  of  one  of  those  immense  and 
powerful  animals  of  former  days,  that  had  been  dead 
for  ages,  its  body  decayed,  its  soul  evaporated,  and 
nothing  left  but  this  framework,  like  to  the  shells  found 
by  geologists  in  prehistoric  strata  by  whose  structure 
they  can  guess  at  the  soft  parts  of  the  vanished  being. 
Seeing  the  ceremonies  of  worship  which  in  former  days 
had  so  moved  him,  he  felt  roused  to  protest,  a  longing 
to  shout  to  the  priests  and  acolytes  to  stop,  and  with- 
draw, as  their  times  were  passed,  and  faith  was  dead, 
and  it  was  only  from  routine  and  the  fear  of  outside 
opinion  that  people  now  frequented  these  places,  which 
formerly  religious  fervour  had  filled  from  morning 
till  night. 

On  his  arrival  in  Barcelona  Gabriel's  life  was  a 
whirlwind  of  proselytising,  of  struggles,  and  of  perse- 
cutions. The  '*  companions  "  respected  him,  seeing 
in  him  the  friend  of  all  the  great  propagandists  of  "  the 
idea,"  and  one  who  might  himself  rank  among  the 
most  famous  revolutionists.  No  meeting  could  be  held 
without  the  '*  companion  "  Luna ;  that  natural  eloquence 
which  had  caused  such  wonder  on  his  entry  into  the 
seminary,  bubbled  up  and  spread  like  an  intoxicating 
gas  in  these  revolutionary  assemblies,  firing  that  ragged, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  8^ 

hungry,  and  miserable  crowd,  making  them  tremble 
with  emotion  at  the  description  of  future  societies  set 
forth  by  the  apostle,  that  celestial  city  of  the  dreamers 
of  all  ages,  .without  property,  without  vices,  without 
inequalities,  where  work  would  become  a  pleasure,  and 
where  there  would  be  no  other  worship  but  that  of 
science  and  art.  Some  of  his  hearers,  the  darker 
spirits,  would  smile  with  a  compassionate  gesture, 
listening  to  his  maledictions  against  authority,  and  his 
hymns  to  the  sweetness  and  triumph  to  be  won  by 
passive  resistance.  He  was  an  idealist,  one  to  whom 
they  must  listen  because  he  had  served  the  cause  well ; 
they  who  were  the  strong  men,  the  fighters,  knew  well 
enough  how  to  crush  in  silence  that  cursed  society  if  it 
should  show  itself  deaf  to  the  voice  of  Truth. 

When  they  exploded  bombs  in  the  streets  the  "com- 
panion "  Luna  was  the  first  to  be  surprised  at  the 
catastrophe,  he  was  also  the  first  to  be  taken  to  prison 
on  account  of  the  popularity  of  his  name.  Oh  !  those 
two  years  passed  in  the  castle  of  Montjuich  !  They 
had  ploughed  a  deep  furrow  in  Gabriel's  memor\%  a 
deep  wound  that  could  not  heal,  that  made  him  tremble 
at  the  slightest  remembrance,  disturbing  his  calm,  and 
making  him  hot  and  cold  with  terror. 

The  madness  of  fear  had  taken  possession  of  society, 
and  all  laws  and  regard  to  humanity  were  trampled 
under  foot  to  defend  it.  The  justice  of  former  ages, 
with  its  violent  procedure  was  resuscitated  in  full 
civilisation.  The  judge  was  distrusted  as  being  too 
cultured  and  scrupulous,  and  a  free  hand  was  given  to 
the  petty  officers  of  justice,  ordering  them  to  introduce 
afresh  all  the  old  instruments  of  torture. 

In  the  darkness  of  the  night  Gabriel  saw  his  Moorish 
dungeon  lighted  up ;  some  men  in  uniform  seized  him 
and  dragged  him  down  the  staircase  to  a  room  where 

G    2 


84  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

others  were  waiting  with  huge  cudgels.  A  young  man 
with  a  soft  voice,  in  the  uniform  of  a  Heutenant,  and 
with  the  lazy  manners  of  a  Creole,  questioned  him  as  to 
the  various  attempts  that  had  occurred  months  before 
down  in  the  town.  Gabriel  knew  nothing,  had  seen 
nothing.  But  all  the  same  these  men  were  your  com- 
panions ;  but  he,  having  fixed  his  eyes  on  high,  con- 
templating his  visions  of  the  future,  had  never  realised 
that  all  around  him  this  violence  was  surging  and 
germinating.  His  reiterated  negative  rendered  the 
men  furious ;  the  soft  voice  of  the  Creole  became  harsh 
with  anger,  and  with  menaces  and  blasphemies  they 
all  threw  themselves  upon  him,  and  the  cruel  hunt  of 
the  man  round  and  round  the  dungeon  began,  the 
cudgels  falling  on  his  body,  beat  his  head  or  his  legs 
indifferently,  pursuing  him  into  corners,  following  him 
as  with  a  desperate  bound  he  reached  the  opposite  wall, 
opening  the  way  with  his  bent  head,  his  back  resounding 
like  an  empty  box  beneath  the  blows.  Now  and  then 
the  desperation  of  pain  inflamed  the  victim,  the  lamb 
turned  into  a  wild  beast,  and  before  falling  to  the 
ground,  cowering  like  a  child  before  superior  numbers, 
he  would  throw  himself  on  the  executioners,  tearing 
them,  and  trying  to  bite  them.  Gabriel  kept  a  button 
from  the  lieutenant's  uniform  which  had  remained  in 
his  fingers  after  one  of  these  revolts  of  his  weakness. 

Afterwards,  his  tormentors,  wearied  by  the  inutility 
of  their  violence,  left  him  forgotten  in  the  dungeon. 
A  loaf  of  bread  and  some  bits  of  dry  salt  cod  were  his 
only  food.  Thirst,  an  infernal  thirst,  racked  his  bowels, 
contracted  his  throat,  and  burnt  his  mouth.  At  first  he 
called  piteously  under  the  door  for  water,  but  afterwards 
he  would  beg  no  more,  knowing  beforehand  what  the 
answer  would  be.  It  was  a  calculated  torture  ;  they 
promised  him  as  much  water  as  he  wished,  after  he 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  85 

should  have  disclosed  the  names  of  the  guilty,  con- 
fessing things  of  which  he  had  no  knowledge.  Hunger 
strove  in  him  against  thirst,  but  fearing  this  lattermost, 
he  would  throw  this  salted  food  into  a  corner  as  though 
it  were  poison.  He  was  delirious  with  the  delirium  of 
a  shipwrecked  man  tormented  with  visions  of  fresh 
water  in  the  midst  of  the  salt  waves.  In  his  nightmare 
he  saw  clear  and  murmuring  brooks,  great  rivers ;  and 
seeking  freshness  for  his  mouth  he  would  pass  his 
tongue  over  the  filthy  walls,  finding  a  certain  alleviation 
in  the  lime  of  the  whitewash. 

The  privations  and  the  incarceration  disturbed  his 
mind  with  horrible  ravings  ;  often  Gabriel  was  surprised 
at  finding  himself  on  all  fours,  growling  and  barking 
opposite  the  door  without  knowing  how  or  why. 

His  tormentors  seemed  to  forget  him  ;  they  had  other 
prisoners  to  look  after.  The  jailors  gave  him  water,  but 
whole  months  passed  without  anyone  entering  his  cell. 
Some  nights  he  would  hear  vaguely  and  far  off  through 
the  greasy  walls  wailing  and  sobs  in  the  adjacent  dun- 
geons. One  morning  he  was  awoke  by  sounds  as  of 
thunder,  in  spite  of  a  tiny  ray  of  sunlight  filtering 
through  his  loophole  ;  hearing  the  jailors  in  the  cor- 
ridors near,  he  understood  the  mystery.  They  had 
been  shooting  some  of  the  prisoners. 

Luna  received  as  a  happiness  this  hope  of  death  ;  he 
would  renounce  with  pleasure  that  shadow  of  a  life  in 
a  small  stone  box,  tormented  by  physical  pain  and  the 
fear  of  men's  ferocity.  His  stomach,  weakened  by  all 
these  privations,  refused  for  many  days,  with  horrible 
nausea,  to  receive  the  bitter  bread  and  the  coppery 
mess.  His  want  of  exercise,  the  want  of  air,  and  the 
bad  and  scanty  nourishment  had  made  him  fall  into  a 
mortal  anaemia  ;  he  coughed  continually,  suffering  great 
oppression  on  his  chest.  The  knowledge  he  had  acquired 


86  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

of  the  human  body  in  his  thirst  for  knowing  every- 
thing did  not  admit  of  his  being  mistaken  ;  he  would 
die  as  poor  Lucy  had  died. 

After  a  year  and  a  half  of  imprisonment  he  appeared 
before  a  council  of  war,  mixed  up  with  a  mob  of  old 
men,  women,  and  even  quite  young  people,  all  weakened 
and  broken  by  imprisonment,  with  their  skin  white  and 
thick  as  chewed  paper,  and  that  dazed  look  in  their 
eyes  that  comes  from  solitary  confinement.  Gabriel 
hoped  he  would  be  executed.  When  the  fiscal  came  to 
the  name  of  Luna  on  the  long  list  he  stopped  an 
instant,  shooting  a  ferocious  glance  at  him — this  man 
was  among  the  theorists.  It  appeared  from  the 
declarations  of  witnesses  that  he  took  no  direct  part 
in  the  deeds  of  violence,  and  that  in  his  speeches  he  had 
always  deprecated  them';  still  it  must  be  remembered 
that  he  was  one  of  the  principal  propagandists  of 
anarchism,  and  that  he  had  delivered  speeches  in  all 
the  workmen's  societies  frequented  by  the  authors  of 
the  attempts. 

An  elderly  captain  bent  towards  another  member  of 
the  council,  speaking  in  his  ear,  but  Gabriel  caught  his 
words  : 

"  It  is  on  these  gentlemen  who  make  speeches  that 
we  must  lay  our  hand,  so  that  they  may  be  warned  not 
to  lecture  any  more  on  Tolstoi  or  Ibsen,  or  any  of  those 
foreign  worthies  who  advocate  throwing  bombs." 

Gabriel  spent  many  months  of  solitary  confinement 
in  his  prison.  From  words  now  and  then  dropped  by  his 
jailors  he  could  guess  at  the  fluctuations  of  his  fate. 
Sometimes  he  would  gather  that  he  and  all  his  com- 
panions in  misfortune  were  to  be  sent  to  the  jail  in 
Africa,  or  again  they  would  hint  at  his  immediate 
liberation,  or  would  prophesy  that  they  were  all  to  be 
shot  en  masse.     When  at  the  end  of  two  years  he  left 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  87 

this  gloomy  castle,  it  was  to  be  embarked  with  all  his 
companions  for  exile.  He  was  only  the  shadow  of  a 
man ;  his  weakness  made  his  walk  as  uncertain  and 
tremulous  as  that  of  a  child,  but  he  forgot  his  own 
misery  in  trying  to  assist  those  of  his  companions  who 
were  even  weaker  than  himself,  and  who  bore  the  cruel 
scars  of  the  torments  they  had  endured. 

The  return  to  liberty  recalled  all  his  former  gentleness 
and  the  philosophic  pity  with  which  he  surrounded  all 
men,  pitying  and  pardoning  their  faults.  On  landing  in 
England  the  more  violent  of  his  companions  spoke  of 
future  vengeance  on  their  persecutors,  while  Gabriel 
asked  pardon  for  them,  as  blind  instruments  employed 
by  society  in  a  moment  of  terror,  thinking  they  had 
saved  it  by  their  barbarity. 

The  climate  of  London  aggravated  Gabriel's  illness, 
and  in  about  two  years  he  was  obliged  to  move  to  the 
Continent,  although  England  with  its  absolute  liberty 
was  the  only  land  where  he  could  have  lived  quietly 
and  ignored. 

His  existence  was  a  cruel  one,  always  a  fugitive 
through  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  driven  from 
one  place  to  another  by  the  vigilance  of  the  police, 
thrown  into  prison,  or  expelled  on  the  slightest  suspicion. 
It  was  a  return  to  the  ancient  persecution  of  the  gipsies, 
the  constant  hunting  of  independent  people,  leading 
vagabond  lives,  of  the  Middle  Ages.  His  illness  and  his 
desire  for  rest  and  peace  made  him  return  to  Spain. 
Time  had  produced  a  certain  amount  of  tolerance  towards 
the  exiles,  and  in  Spain  everything  is  soon  forgotten, 
and  though  the  authorities  are  harder  and  less  scrupulous 
than  in  other  countries,  still  they  interfere  less  on 
account  of  their  improvidence  and  the  carelessness 
natural  to  the  race. 

Sick  and  without  any  work  by  which  he  could  earn 


88  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

his  living,  precluded  from  seeking  work  among  the 
printers,  as  his  name  was  encircled  by  a  halo  which 
terrified  the  masters,  Gabriel  fell  into  such  extreme 
poverty  that  the  little  help  and  succour  his  companions 
could  afford  were  unable  to  relieve  it,  and  he  travelled 
from  end  to  end  of  the  Peninsula  begging  from  his 
fellows  and  hiding  from  the  police. 

His  spirit  was  broken,  he  was  conquered,  and  he  had 
no  longer  strength  to  continue  the  struggle.  Nothing 
remained  for  him  but  to  die,  but  merciful  death  came 
slowly  to  his  call.  He  thought  of  his  brother,  the  only 
affection  remaining  to  him  in  the  world  ;  he  remembered 
the  quiet  family  in  the  Claverias,  of  which  he  had  caught 
a  glimpse  on  his  last  visit  to  the  Cathedral,  and  he 
turned  to  seek  them  as  his  last  hope. 

On  his  return  to  Toledo,  he  found  the  happy  family 
dissolved ;  misfortune  had  come  even  to  that  silent  and 
stagnant  corner. 

But  the  Cathedral,  insensible  to  all  human  vicissitudes 
was  there,  the  same  as  ever,  and  to  it  he  clung,  hiding 
himself  in  its  recesses,  hoping  to  die  there  in  peace,  with 
no  other  hope  but  to  be  forgotten ;  dying  before  his 
proper  time,  tasting  the  bitter  happiness  of  annihilation, 
leaving  behind  him  at  the  door,  like  an  animal  who 
sheds  its  skin,  all  that  rebellion  which  had  drawn  upon 
him  the  hatred  of  society. 

His  happiness  was  not  to  think,  not  to  speak,  to 
mould  himself  to  that  dead  world ;  he  would  be  among 
the  living  statues  peopling  the  upper  cloister,  one  more 
automaton ;  he  would  imitate  those  beings  who  seemed 
to  have  absorbed  into  themselves  something  of  the 
austerity  of  the  granite  buttresses,  he  would  inhale  like 
a  healing  balsam  the  scent  of  the  rusty  iron  railings  and 
the  incense  that  spread  through  the  church,  the  ancient 
perfume  of  the  past  centuries. 


CHAPTER    IV 

On  leaving  the  cloister  in  the  mornings  soon  after 
daybreak,  the  first  person  Gabriel  would  see  was 
Don  Antolin,  the  "  Silver  Stick."  This  priest  exercised  an 
authority  like  that  of  Governor  of  the  Cathedral,  for  all 
the  lay  servants  were  under  his  orders,  and  all  the  repairs 
of  little  importance  were  done  under  his  supervision. 

Down  below,  in  the  church,  he  watched  the  sacristans 
and  the  acolytes,  careful  that  the  canons  and  benefi- 
ciaries should  have  no  cause  of  complaint  in  the  services. 
Upstairs,  in  the  cloister,  he  watched  over  the  good 
behaviour  and  cleanliness  of  the  families,  being  by  the 
grace  of  .the  cardinal  archbishop  a  sort  of  magistrate 
over  that  little  town. 

He  occupied  the  best  *'  habitacion  "  in  the  Claverias. 
At  the  great  ceremonies  he  walked  in  front  of  the 
Chapter  in  his  pluvial,  carrying  a  silver  stick  nearly  as 
tall  as  himself,  making  the  tiles  of  the  pavement  re-echo 
with  its  blows.  During  High  Mass  and  the  choir  in 
the  evening  he  walked  about  the  naves  to  check 
any  irreverence  on  the  part  of  the  congregation  or 
any  inattention  on  that  of  the  staff.  At  eight  o'clock 
at  night  in  the  winter,  and  at  nine  in  summer,  he 
locked  the  door  of  the  staircase  leading  to  the  upper 
cloister,  putting  the  key  in  his  pocket,  and  so  all  the 
people  in  the  cloister  remained  quite  isolated  from 
the   town.     If  now   and   again    anyone   was  taken  ill 


90  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

in  the  night,  it  was  necessary  to  wake  Don  AntoHn 
who,  plunging  his  hand  into  the  depths  of  his 
cassock,  would  produce  his  key,  and  deign  to  restore 
communication  with  the  outer  world. 

He  was  about  seventy  years  of  age,  small  and 
wizened ;  age  had  scarcely  tinged  his  shaven  crown 
with  grey,  his  forehead  was  broad  and  square,  and  rose 
straight  beneath  the  silk  cap  he  wore  in  winter.  His 
features  were  rather  drawn  out,  without  a  single 
wrinkle,  and  devoid  of  any  expression  that  showed 
emotion,  the  jaw-bone  narrow  and  sharp,  and  the  eyes 
as  inexpressive  and  motionless  as  the  rest  of  the  face, 
but  with  a  cold,  penetrating  glance  that  was  extremely 
disconcerting. 

Gabriel  had  known  him  from  his  childhood  ;  he  was, 
to  use  his  own  expression,  like  a  private  soldier  of  the 
church,  who  by  reason  of  his  years  and  services  had 
attained  the  rank  of  sergeant,  but  who  could  rise  no 
further.  When  Luna  first  entered  the  seminary  Don 
Antolin  had  just  been  ordained  priest,  and  since  then 
had  passed  his  life  in  the  sacristy  of  the  Primacy  where 
he  had  begun  as  acolyte. 

On  account  of  his  absolute  and  irrational  faith  and 
his  unbending  adhesion  to  the  Church,  the  professors  in 
the  seminary  had  pushed  him  on  in  his  career,  in  spite 
of  his  ignorance  ;  he  was  a  son  of  the  soil,  having  been 
born  in  a  village  in  the  mountains  round  Toledo.  The 
Holy  Metropolitan  Church  was  to  him  the  second 
house  of  God  in  the  world,  only  ranking  after  Saint 
Peter's  in  Rome,  and  all  ecclesiastical  learning  was  to 
him  like  rays  emanating  from  the  Divine  wisdom,  which 
blinded  him,  and  were  to  be  adored  with  the  profound 
respect  of  ignorance. 

He  had  that  blessed  and  entire  want  of  education  so 
appreciated  by  the  Church  in  former  years.      Gabriel 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  gi 

felt  sure  that  if  Silver  Stick  had  been  born  in  the 
flourishing  times  of  Catholicism  he  would  have  become 
a  saint  on  dedicating  himself  to  the  spiritual  life,  or  he 
would  have  played  an  excellent  part  in  the  Inquisition 
on  the  arrival  of  that  militant  society.  Having  come 
into  the  world  at  the  wrong  time,  when  faith  was 
weakened  and  the  Church  could  no  longer  impose  its 
laws  by  violence,  the  good  Don  Antolin  had  remained 
hidden  in  the  lower  administration  of  the  Cathedral,  assist- 
ing the  Canon  Obrero  in  the  division  and  assignment  of 
the  money  that  the  State  allowed  to  the  Primacy,  giving 
long  thought  over  the  spending  of  each  handful  of 
farthings,  endeavouring  that  the  holy  house,  like  the 
ruined  families,  should  keep  up  its  good  outward 
appearance  without  revealing  the  poverty  inside. 

He  had  been  promised  several  times  a  chaplaincy  of 
nuns,  but  he  was  one  of  those  faithful  to  the  Cathedral, 
one  of  those  quite  in  love  with  the  great  establishment. 
He  was  proud  of  the  confidence  that  the  Lord  Arch- 
bishop placed  in  him,  and  of  the  frank  friendliness  with 
which  the  canons  and  beneficiaries  spoke  to  him,  and 
of  his  administrative  conferences  with  the  Obrero  and 
the  Treasurer.  For  this  reason  he  could  not  repress  a 
gesture  of  contemptuous  superiority  when  having  donned 
his  pluvial,  and  clutching  his  silver  stick,  he  advanced 
and  spoke  to  any  strange  clergy  from  the  neighbouring 
villages  who  visited  the  Primacy. 

His  faults  were  purely  ecclesiastic  ;  he  saved  in  secret, 
with  that  cold,  determined  avarice  so  usual  at  all  times 
in  people  attached  to  the  Church.  His  greasy  skull  cap 
had  been  discarded  as  too  old  by  its  former  owner,  one 
of  the  canons  ;  his  cassock  of  a  greenish  black  and  his 
shoes  had  also  belonged  to  some  one  of  the  beneficiaries ; 
in  the  Claverias  they  all  whispered  of  the  monies  hoarded 
by  Don  Antolin,  and  of  his  savings  that  were  devoted 


92  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

to  usury — loans  that  never  went  beyond  two  or  three 
duros  to  the  poorer  servants  of  the  church  ground 
down  by  poverty,  and  which  he  recovered  with  interest 
at  the  beginning  of  every  month  when  they  were  paid 
by  the  Canon  Obrero.  In  him  avarice  and  usury  were 
joined  to  the  most  impHcit  honesty  in  regard  to  the 
interests  of  the  church ;  he  would  punish  relentlessly 
the  smallest  pilfering  in  the  sacristy,  and  he  made  up 
his  accounts  for  the  Chapter  with  a  minuteness  that 
annoyed  the  Obrero.  To  every  one  his  own,  the 
church  was  poor  and  it  would  be  a  sin  worthy  of  hell 
to  deprive  her  of  a  single  farthing  ;  he,  as  a  good  servant 
of  God  was  poor  also,  and  he  thought  he  was  doing  no 
wrong  in  drawing  a  certain  profit  from  the  money  he 
had  gathered  together  by  dint  of  bargaining,  and 
by  many  painful  privations  in  the  midst  of  his 
poverty. 

His  niece,  Mariquita,  lived  with  him,  an  ugly  woman 
with  masculine  features  and  a  fresh  colour,  who  had 
come  from  the  mountains  to  look  after  her  uncle,  of 
whose  riches  and  power  in  the  Primacy  all  his  relations 
and  friends  in  the  village  talked  a  great  deal.  She  rode 
roughshod  over  all  the  other  women  in  the  Claverias, 
taking  undue  advantage  of  Don  Antolin's  supreme 
authority.  The  more  timid  formed  round  her  a  circle 
of  adulation,  endeavouring  to  evoke  her  protection  by 
cleaning  her  house  and  cooking  for  her,  while  Mariquita, 
dressed  in  the  habit,  and  with  her  hair  most  carefully 
combed — the  only  luxury  allowed  by  her  uncle — loitered 
about  the  cloister  hoping  to  meet  there  some  cadet,  or 
that  some  of  the  foreigners  visiting  the  tower  or  the 
hall  of  the  giants  would  take  notice  of  her.  She  made 
sheep's  eyes  at  every  man ;  and  she,  so  hard  and 
imperious  to  all  the  women,  would  smile  sweetly  on  all 
the  bachelors  living  in  the  Claverias.    The  "Tato"  was 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  93 

a  great  friend  of  hers  ;  he  would  come  and  visit  her  when 
her  uncle  was  absent  in  order  to  air  his  graces  as 
apprentice  to  a  Torrero.  Gabriel,  with  his  delicate 
looks,  his  mysterious  self-containment,  and  the  con- 
fused story  of  all  his  great  travels  about  the  world  inter- 
ested her  not  less ;  she  would  even  speak  with  marked 
deference  to  the  "  Wooden  Staif,"  as  he  was  both 
a  man  and  a  widower,  and,  as  the  "  Perrero  "  wickedly 
said,  the  very  sight  of  a  pair  of  trousers  nearly  drove 
the  poor  woman  mad  in  that  establishment  where  the 
greater  part  of  the  men  wore  petticoats. 

Don  Antolin  had  known  Gabriel  since  his  childhood, 
and  spoke  to  him  in  the  second  person.  The  ignorant 
priest  still  retained  the  remembrance  of  Luna's  great 
triumphs  obtained  in  the  seminary,  and  though  he  saw 
him  so  poor  and  ailing,  taking  refuge  in  the  Cathedral 
almost  on  charity,  his  "  tuteo  "  of  superiority  was  not 
free  from  admiration.  Gabriel,  on  his  side,  feared 
Silver  Stick,  knowing  his  intolerant  fanaticism.  For 
this  reason  he  confined  himself  to  listening  to  him, 
careful  in  their  conversation  that  not  a  single  word 
should  slip  in  which  could  betray  his  past.  He 
would  be  the  first  to  demand  his  expulsion  from  the 
Cathedral,  where  he  wished  to  live  unknown  and  silent. 

On  meeting  each  other  in  the  cloister,  the  two  men 
began  with  the  same  questions  every  morning: 

"  How  is  your  health  to-day  ?  " 

Gabriel  showed  himself  an  optimist.  He  knew  that  his 
illness  had  no  remedy ;  still,  that  quiet  life  free  from  all 
emotions,  and  his  brother's  care,  feeding  him  at  all 
hours,  like  a  bird  and  almost  by  force,  had  arrested  the 
decay  of  his  health.  The  course  of  the  illness  was 
slower — death  was  meeting  with  obstacles, 

"I  am  better,  Don  Antolin.  And  yesterday,  what 
sort  of  a  day  had  you  ?  " 


94  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Silver  Stick  plunged  his  dirty  and  horny  hands 
into  the  recesses  of  his  cassock,  and  produced  three 
greasy  little  ticket-books,  one  red,  one  green  and  the 
third  white.  He  turned  over  the  leaves,  considering  the 
counterfoils  of  those  he  had  torn  out ;  he  took  the  most 
respectful  care  of  these  little  books,  as  though  they 
w^ere  far  more  important  than  the  big  music  books  in 
the  choir. 

"A  very  slack  day,  Gabriel !  Being  in  the  winter,  so 
few  people  travel.  Our  best  time  is  in  the  spring,  when 
they  say  the  English  come  in  by  Gibraltar.  They  go 
first  to  the  fair  in  Seville,  and  afterwards  they  come  to 
have  a  look  at  our  Cathedral.  Besides,  in  milder 
weather  the  people  come  from  Madrid,  and  although 
they  grumble,  the  flies  crowd  to  see  the  giants  and 
the  big  bell,  then  I  have  to  hurry  with  the  tickets  ;  one 
day,  Gabriel,  I  took  eighty  duros.  I  remember  it  was 
at  the  last '  Corpus ' ;  Mariquita  had  to  sew  up  the  pockets 
of  my  cassock,  for  they  tore  with  the  weight  of  so  many 
pesetas  ;  it  was  a  blessing  from  the  Lord." 

He  looked  sadly  at  the  little  books,  as  though  regret- 
ting that  many  days  passed  in  winter  when  he  only 
tore  out  one  or  two  leaves.  This  plan  of  selling 
entrance  tickets  to  see  the  treasures  and  curiosities 
of  the  Cathedral  filled  all  his  thoughts.  It  was  the 
salvation  of  the  church,  the  modern  proceeding  to 
help  it  on,  and  he  felt  proud  of  fulfilling  this  function, 
which  made  him  one  of  the  most  important  persons  in 
the  life  of  the  temple. 

"  You  see  these  green  tickets  ?  "  said  he  to  Gabriel. 
"  These  are  the  dearest,  they  cost  two  pesetas  each. 
With  these  you  can  see  everything  that  is  most  impor- 
tant— the  treasury,  the  chapel  of  the  Virgin,  and  the 
Ochavo  with  its  relics  which  are  unique  in  the  world. 
The  other  cathedrals  are  dirt  compared  v/ith  ours,  and 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  95 

their  relics  lies,  many  of  them  invented  on  account  of 
the  envy  that  our  Holy  Metropolitan  Church  inspired. 
You  see  these  red  ones  ?  These  only  cost  six  reals,  and 
with  them  you  can  visit  the  sacristies,  the  wardrobe, 
the  chapels  of  Don  Alvaro  de  Luna  and  of  Cardinal 
Albornoz,  and  the  Chapter-house,  with  it  two  rows  of 
portraits  of  the  archbishops  which  are  wonders.  Who 
would  not  scrape  their  purse  to  see  such  prodigies  ?  " 

Afterwards  he  added,  showing  the  last  ticket  book 
with  contempt : 

*'  These  white  ones  are  only  worth  two  reals.  They 
are  to  see  the  giants  and  the  bells.  We  sell  a  great 
many  of  those  to  the  lower  class  who  come  to  the 
Cathedral  on  feast  da3's.  Could  you  believe  it,  but 
many  of  the  Protestants  and  Jews  call  this  a  robbery  ? 
The  other  day  three  soldiers  came  from  the  Academy 
with  some  country  folks  to  see  the  giants,  and  they 
made  quite  a  scandalous  scene  because  we  would  not 
let  them  in  for  an  old  song.  As  if  we  were  asking 
their  charity  !  Many  of  them  commit  all  sorts  of 
nuisances  about  the  Cathedral,  just  as  if  they  were 
heretics,  to  say  nothing  of  their  drawing  all  sorts  of 
abominable  things  and  writing  obscene  words  on  the 
walls  of  the  staircase.  What  shocking  times,  eh, 
Gabriel  ?     What  shocking  times  !  " 

Luna  smiled  silently,  and  Silver  Stick,  encouraged 
by  what  seemed  to  him  acquiescence,  went  on  with 
pride : 

"  And  about  these  tickets,  I  invented  them — that  is 
to  say,  I  am  not  really  their  inventor,  but  their  intro- 
duction into  this  house  is  owing  to  me.  You  have 
travelled  so  much,  and  must  have  seen  in  those  foreign 
countries  that  everything  is  shown  on  payment.  The 
Lord  Cardinal  before  this  one,  who  is  now  in  blessed 
^rlory  (and  he  raised  his  hand  to  his  skull  cap)  had  also 


qb    THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

travelled  a  great  deal — he  was  quite  a  '  modern,'  and 
had  he  lived  would  have  ended  by  putting-  electric  light 
in  the  naves  of  the  Cathedral.  I  heard  him  on  one 
occasion  speak  of  what  was  done  in  the  museums  and 
other  interesting  places  in  Rome  and  other  towns; 
unrestricted  entrance  at  all  hours — on  payment,  an 
immense  convenience  to  the  public,  who  required  to 
get  no  tickets  beforehand  to  visit  these  things.  So  one 
day  when  the  Obrero  and  I  were  biting  our  nails,  seeing 
that  this  miserable  thousand  and  odd  pesetas  (God 
forgive  me !)  that  this  unhappy  State  allows  us,  could 
not  possibly  suffice  for  our  monthly  expenses,  I  pro- 
pounded my  idea.  Now,  could  you  believe  that  some  of 
the  gentlemen  in  the  Chapter  opposed  it  ?  Some  of  the 
young  canons  spoke  of  the  sellers  in  the  Temple,  you 
know  who  they  were — certain  Jews  who  drove  the  Lord 
out  with  scourges  in  their  hand,  for  I  know  not  what 
misdemeanours.  The  older  ones  said  the  Cathedral  had 
always  had  its  treasures  open  to  all  for  centuries,  and  so 
it  ought  to  go  on.  All  the  gentlemen  were  quite  right, 
but  you  cannot  do  anything  with  a  stupid  canon,  and 
at  last  the  defunct  cardinal,  who  is  now  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God  (another  tug  at  his  cap)  interfered,  and 
the  Chapter  were  obliged,  though  with  much  grumbling, 
to  accept  the  reform,  and  they  ended  by  praising  it. 
In  all  bitter  there  is  a  sweet !  Do  you  know  how  much 
money  I  handed  to  the  Lord  Cardinal  last  year  ?  More 
than  three  thousand  duros,  nearly  as  much  as  this  sinful 
State  allows  us,  and  this  without  prejudice  to  anybody. 
The  public  pays,  they  admire  and  they  go ;  in  any  case 
they  are  only  birds  of  passage  who  come  once,  and 
when  they  go  they  do  not  return.  And  what  are  four 
wretched  pesetas,  when  for  that  money  you  can  see 
one  of  the  most  glorious  churches  in  Christendom,  the 
cradle  of  Spanish  Catholicism,  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo  I " 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  97 

The  two  men  were  walking  in  the  cloister  on  the  side 
warmed  by  the  sun  at  that  early  hour,  the  cleric  had 
put  away  his  ticket  books,  and  his  eyes  were  fixed  on 
Gabriel,  who  thought  that  to  smile  in  his  enigmatic 
w^ay,  which  Don  Antolin  accepted  as  assent,  quite  met 
the  situation,  and  it  encouraged  him  to  continue  his 
confidences. 

"  Ay,  Gabriel  !  You  cannot  think  that  my  heavy 
duties  can  be  fulfilled  without  hard  work  ;  the  Cardinal 
trusts  me,  the  Chapter  distinguish  me  with  their  regard, 
and  the  Obrero  has  no  other  hope  but  in  my  assistance. 
Thanks  to  these  tickets  we  can  carry  the  Cathedral 
along,  and  keep  up  its  ancient  appearance  of  grandeur, 
so  that  the  public  will  come  and  admire.  But  we  are 
poorer  than  rats,  and  we  must  be  thankful  that  even 
some  crumbs  are  left  us  from  the  past.  If  the  wind  or 
the  hail  break  some  of  our  glass  in  the  naves,  we  can  still 
lay  our  hands  on  some  of  the  stores  left  by  the  Obreros 
of  former  days.  Ay,  senor  !  And  to  think  there  was  a 
time  when  the  Chapter  maintained  at  its  own  expense 
inside  the  church,  cutters  and  painters  of  glass, 
plumbers,  and  I  know  not  what  beside,  so  that  any 
great  works  could  be  undertaken  without  seeking  any 
help  outside  the  house  !  If  one  of  the  tombs  gets 
broken,  even  now  we  have  quantities  of  borderings 
carved  with  saints  and  flowers  that  are  wonderful  to 
see.  But  what  will  happen  when  all  these  are  finished  ? 
When  the  last  pane  of  glass  in  the  stores  has  been 
broken,  and  the  last  fragments  of  carving  in  the 
Obreria  used  up  ?  We  shall  have  to  put  cheap  white 
panes  in  the  windows  to  prevent  the  rain  and  wind 
coming  in.  The  Cathedral  will  look  like  an  inn — may 
God  forgive  me  the  comparison — and  the  priests  of  the 
Primacy  will  praise  God  dressed  like  the  chaplain  of  a 
hermitage." 

c.  H 


98  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

And  Don  Antolin  laughed  sarcastically,  as  though 
this  future  that  he  was  anticipating  was  an  absurd  con- 
tradiction of  the  eternal  laws. 

"  You  will  easily  believe,"  he  went  on,  "  that  they  do 
not  waste  anything,  and  that  they  make  money  out  of 
every  possible  thing.  The  garden  that  was  for  so  many 
years  in  your  family  is  now  leased  out  by  the  Chapter, 
since  your  brother's  death  ;  twenty  duros  a  year  your 
Aunt  Tomasa  pays  for  her  son  to  cultivate  it,  and  this 
only  because,  as  you  know,  the  old  woman  is  such  a 
great  friend  of  His  Eminence,  as  they  have  known  each 
other  since  they  were  children.  I  go  about  like  a  water 
carrier,  all  round  the  church  and  the  cloisters,  watching 
that  no  one  plays  tricks,  for  there  are  a  lot  of  young 
light-hearted  people,  whom  you  cannot  trust.  One 
minute  I  am  in  the  Ochavo,  watching  that  your  nephew 
the  '  Tato '  has  sold  the  tickets  to  the  foreigners  (for  he 
is  quite  capable  of  letting  them  in  gratis  if  they  tip  him 
on  leaving),  and  the  next  I  am  up  in  the  cloister  looking 
after  that  shoemaker  who  repairs  the  giants  ;  they  can- 
not deceive  me,  no  one  escapes  me  without  paying ;  but, 
ay !  it  is  a  long  while  since  I  have  sung  mass.  You  can 
see  me  at  mid-day  when  the  Cathedral  is  closed  reading 
my  hours  hurriedly  in  the  cloisters,  watching  the  clock 
in  order  to  go  down  the  moment  the  church  is  opened, 
when  the  strangers  begin  to  come  to  see  the  treasury. 
This  is  not  the  life  of  a  good  Catholic,  and  if  God  does 
not  lay  it  to  my  account  that  I  am  doing  it  all  for  the 
glory  of  His  house,  I  fear  that  I  shall  lose  my 
soul." 

The  two  men  walked  up  and  down  some  time  in  silence, 
but  Don  Antolin  could  not  hold  his  tongue  for  long  when 
the  subject  was  the  economic  life  of  the  Primacy. 

"  And  to  think,  Gabriel,"  he  continued,  "  that  having 
been  what   we  were  in  former  times,  we  should  have 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  99 

come  to  this  !  You  and  most  of  those  alive  have  no 
idea  how  rich  this  house  used  to  be — as  rich  as  a  king, 
and  often  far  richer.  From  a  child  no  one  has  known 
as  you  have  the  histor}'  of  our  glorious  archbishops, 
but  of  the  fortune  they  amassed  for  God,  you  know 
nothing.  Of  course  these  temporalities  do  not 
interest  learned  people  like  you.  Have  you  any  idea 
what  donations  the  kings  and  great  lords  gave  in  their 
lifetime  to  our  Cathedral,  or  the  legacies  they  left  her 
on  their  deathbeds  ?  You  have  a  great  deal  to  learn  ! 
I  know  all  about  it,  I  have  searched  in  the  Obreria,  in 
the  archives,  in  the  library  ;  everyone  does  what  interests 
them,  and  I  and  the  Seuor  Obrero  have  often  raged  at 
the  indigence  of  the  house,  but  I  console  myself  by 
thinking  of  what  we  had,  long  before  any  of  us  were 
born.  We  were  very  rich,  Gabriel — very,  very  rich. 
The  archbishops  of  Toledo  could  have  placed  one  or 
two  crowns  on  their  mitre,  I  dare  not  say  three,  for  I 
think  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff.  First  of  all,  there  is  the 
Deed  of  Gift  to  the  Cathedral,  made  by  the  King 
Alfonso  VL,  by  reason  of  his  having  conquered  Toledo. 
It  was  made  a  hermitage,  after  the  election  of  the 
Bishop  Don  Bernardo,  and  I  have  seen  it  in  the  archives 
with  my  own  sinful  eyes,  a  parchment  with  Gothic 
letters,  and  at  the  head  is  written,  *  The  privileges  of 
this  Holy  Church.'  The  good  king  gave  to  the 
Cathedral  nine  towns — if  I  wished  I  could  tell  you  their 
names — several  mills,  and  vineyards  innumerable,  houses 
and  shops  in  the  town,  and  he  ends  by  saying  with  all 
the  munificence  of  a  Christian  cavalier,  '  This,  therefore, 
in  such  a  way  I  give,  and  I  grant  to  this  church  and  to 
you,  Bernard,  Archbishop,  in  free  and  perfect  gift, 
that  neither  by  homicide,  nor  any  other  calumny, 
shall  it  ever  be  forfeited.  Amen.'  Afterwards,  Don 
Alfonso    Vn.    gave    us    eight    towns    on    the    other 

H  2 


100  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

side  of  the  Guadalquiver,  several  ovens,  two  castles,  the 
salt  works  of  Belinchon,  and  a  tenth  of  all  the  money 
coined  in  Toledo,  for  the  vestments  of  the  prebendaries. 
The  Vni.  of  the  name  showered  on  the  Cathedral  a 
perfect  rain  of  gifts,  towns,  villages,  and  mills.  Illescas 
is  ours,  and  a  great  part  of  Esquivias,  as  also  the 
mortgage  on  Talavera.  Afterwards  came  the  fighting 
prelate,  Don  Rodrigo,  who  took  much  land  from  the 
Moors,  and  the  Cathedral  possesses  one  principality, 
the  Adelantamiento  de  Cazorla,  with  towns  like  Baza, 
Niebla,  and  Alcaraz.  And  besides  the  kings  there  is  a 
great  deal  to  be  said  about  the  nobles,  great  princes  who 
showed  their  generosity  to  the  Holy  Metropolitan 
Church.  Don  Lope  de  Haro,  Lord  of  Vizcaya,  not 
content  with  paying  the  cost  of  the  building  from  the 
Puerta  de  los  Escribanos  as  far  as  the  choir,  gave  us 
the  town  of  Alcubilete,  with  its  mills  and  fisheries,  and 
he  also  left  a  legacy  so  that  in  the  choir  when  complines 
are  sung,  that  lamp  called  the  Preciosa  should  be  lighted, 
which  is  placed  by  the  great  bronze  eagle  belonging  to 
the  big  missal.  Don  Alfonso  Tello  de  Meneses  gave  us 
four  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  Guadiana,  granted  us 
tithes  and  bridge  tolls,  and  I  know  not  what  riches 
besides.  We  have  been  very  powerful,  Gabriel  ;  the 
territory  of  this  diocese  is  larger  than  a  principality. 
The  Cathedral  had  property  on  the  earth,  in  the  air, 
and  in  the  sea !  Our  dominions  extended  throughout 
the  whole  nation  from  end  to  end  ;  there  was  not  a  single 
province  in  which  we  did  not  hold  possessions.  Every- 
thing contributed  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the 
comfort  and  welfare  of  His  ministers;  everything  paid 
to  the  Cathedral :  bread  when  it  was  baked  in  the  ovens, 
the  casting  of  the  net,  wheat  as  it  passed  through  the 
mill,  money  as  it  came  from  the  Mint,  the  traveller  as 
he  went  on  his  way  ;  the  country  people  who  then  paid 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  lor 

no  taxes  or  contributions  served  their  king  and  saved 
their  own  souls,  giving  the  best  sheaf  in  every  ten,  so 
that  the  granaries  of  the  Holy  Metropohtan  Church 
were  quite  insufficient  to  contain  such  abundance. 
What  times  were  those,  Gabriel !  There  was  faith, 
Gabriel,  and  faith  is  the  chief  thing  in  life — without  faith 
there  is  no  virtue  nor  decency — nor  nothing." 

He  stopped  for  a  moment,  quite  out  of  breath  with 
talking.  The  priest  was  so  saturated  with  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  Cathedral,  that  in  himself  he  seemed  to 
unite  all  the  various  scents  of  the  church ;  his  cassock 
had  collected  the  mouldy  smell  of  the  old  stones  and 
the  rusty  iron  railings,  and  his  mouth  seemed  to 
breathe  of  the  gutters  and  the  gargoyles,  and  the  rank 
damp  of  the  garrets. 

With  the  rapid  enumeration  of  all  the  past  wealth 
Don  Antolin  warmed,  even  to  indignation. 

"  And  having  been  so  rich,  now  we  find  ourselves  in 
extreme  poverty.  And  I,  my  son,  a  priest  of  the  Lord, 
am  obliged  to  go  hither  and  thither  with  those  tickets 
so  that  we  may  all  live,  just  as  though  I  were  a  seller 
of  entrance  tickets  to  a  bull-fight,  and  the  Lord's  house 
were  a  theatre,  having  to  endure  all  those  foreign 
heretics,  who  come  in  without  blessing  themselves,  and 
who  look  at  everything  through  opera-glasses.  And  I 
have  to  smile  at  them  because  they  pay  us  and  provide 
us  with  some  dessert  for  our  poor  stew  !  Carape  !  Jesus 
have  mercy  on  me  !     I  was  going  to  say  a  sacrilege." 

Don  Antolin  continued  his  angry  complaints  till,  in 
passing  the  front  of  his  house,  Mariquita  of  the 
scowling  and  ugly  countenance  appeared  at  the  door. 

"  Uncle,  enough  of  walking.  Your  chocolate  is 
getting  cold." 

But  before  the  priest  disappeared  into  his  house,  she 
went  on,  smiling  amiably  at  Luna  : 


9A>o^^^-.^^^^^'^'^  ^^  CALIFORNIA 
SANr^  LAKBARA  COLLEGE  LIBEARY 


102  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Will  you  have  some,  Don  Gabriel  ?  " 

And  with  her  bold  eyes,  like  a  hungry  wolf,  she 
invited  Luna  to  enter.  She  liked  the  masterful  ways 
of  the  man,  she  said,  and  the  ease  which  his  former 
intercourse  with  the  world  had  given  him,  and,  moreover, 
for  her  woman's  imagination  Gabriel's  mysterious  past 
possessed  a  great  attraction ;  his  proud  silence,  the 
vague  reports  of  his  adventures,  and  the  smile,  as  much 
compassionate  as  disdainful,  with  which  he  listened  to 
the  people  of  the  upper  cloister. 

The  insinuating  Mariquita  withdrew,  and  Gabriel 
continued  his  walk  through  the  cloister,  after  finishing 
the  little  jar  of  milk  that  his  brother  brought  him  up 
every  morning. 

At  eight  o'clock,  Don  Luis,  the  Chapel-master  came 
out,  his  cloak  wrapped  as  usual  theatrically  round  him, 
and  his  big  hat  well  tilted  back,  like  a  glory,  round  his 
enormous  head ;  he  was  humming  absently,  restless 
with  perpetual  nervous  movements;  he  inquired 
anxiously  if  the  bell  had  yet  rung  for  the  choir, 
frightened  by  the  threats  of  a  fine  in  case  he  were  late. 
Gabriel  felt  himself  very  much  attracted  by  this  poor 
priestly  musician,  who  lived  so  despised  in  the  furthest 
corner  of  the  church,  thinking  far  more  of  music  than 
of  dogma. 

In  the  evenings  Gabriel  would  often  go  up  to  the 
little  room  inhabited  by  the  Chapel-master,  on  the  upper 
floor  of  the  Lunas'  house  ;  the  room  contained  all  the 
priest's  fortune — a  little  iron  bed,  which  had  belonged 
formerly  to  the  seminarist,  two  plaster  busts  of 
Beethoven  and  Mozart,  and  an  enormous  pile  of 
bundles  of  music,  bound  scores,  loose  sheets  of  ruled 
paper,  so  big  and  so  piled  up  and  disorderly  that  every 
now  and  then  a  pile  would  slip  down,  covering  the  floor 
of  the  little  room  with  white  sheets  to  its  furthest  corner. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  103 

"That  is  how  all  his  money  goes,"  said  the  Wooden 
Staff  with  an  air  of  good-natured  reproof,  ''  he  will  never 
have  a  farthing.  As  soon  as  he  gets  his  pay  he  orders 
more  music  from  Madrid.  It  would  be  far  better  for 
Don  Luis  if  he  were  to  buy  himself  a  new  hat,  even 
if  it  were  a  cheap  one,  so  that  the  gentlemen  of  the 
choir  should  not  laugh  at  the  covering  he  has  on  his 
head." 

In  the  winter  evenings,  after  the  choir,  the  musician 
and  Gabriel  took  refuge  in  this  little  room.  The  canons, 
wishing  to  avoid  the  cold  winds  and  the  rain,  took 
their  daily  walk  in  the  galleries  of  the  upper  cloister, 
not  wishing  to  forego  this  exercise  to  which  their 
methodical  existence  had  accustomed  them.  The  rain 
would  beat  on  the  window  of  the  little  room,  and  in  the 
dull  grey  twilight  the  musician  would  turn  over  his 
portfolios,  or  letting  his  hands  wander  over  the 
harmonium,  he  would  talk  the  while  with  Gabriel,  who 
was  seated  on  the  bed. 

The  musician  would  grow  excited,  speaking  of  his 
love  of  art.  In  the  midst  of  some  peroration  he  would 
become  suddenly  silent,  and  bending  over  the  instru- 
ment its  melodies  would  fill  the  room,  and  floating 
down  the  staircase  would  reach  the  ears  of  the  walkers 
in  the  cloister  like  a  distant  echo.  Suddenly  he  would 
cease  playing  and  resume  his  chattering,  as  though 
afraid  that  with  his  absent-mindedness  his  ideas  would 
evaporate. 

The  silent  Luna  was  the  only  listener  he  had  met 
with  in  the  Cathedral ;  the  first  who  would  listen  to 
him  for  long  hours  without  ridiculing  him  or  thinking 
him  crsizy,  and  who  often  showed  by  his  short  inter- 
ruptions and  questions  the  pleasure  with  which  he 
listened. 

The  end  of  the  evening's  conversation  was  always 


104  THE   SHADOW   OF  THE  '.CATHEDRAL 

the  same — the  greatness  of  Beethoven,  the  idol  of  the 
poor  musician. 

**  I  have  loved  him  all  my  life,"  said  the  Chapel- 
master,  *'  I  was  educated  by  a  Jeronomite  friar,  an 
old  man  driven  from  his  convent  who,  after  leaving 
it,  had  wandered  over  the  world  as  a  professor  of  the 
violoncello.  The  Jeronomites  were  the  great  musicians 
of  the  Church.  You  did  not  know  this,  neither  should 
I  have  known  it  if  this  holy  man  had  not  taken  me 
under  his  protection  soon  after  I  was  born,  and  been 
to  me  a  real  father.  It  appears  that  in  olden  days 
each  order  devoted  itself  to  some  special  thing.  One, 
I  think  the  Benedictines,  copied  and  annotated  old 
books  ;  others  made  sweet  liqueurs  for  the  ladies,  others 
were  wonderfully  clever  in  training  cage  birds,  and  the 
Jeronomites  studied  music  for  seven  years,  each  one 
playing  the  instrument  of  his  choice,  and  to  these 
we  owe  that  there  has  been  preserved  in  the  Spanish 
churches  a  little,  but  very  little,  good  musical  taste. 
And  from  what  my  little  father  told  me,  what  wonderful 
orchestras  these  Jeronomites  must  have  had  in  their 
convents  !  For  the  ladies  it  was  a  great  delight  to 
go  on  Sunday  evenings  to  the  parlour,  where  they 
met  the  good  fathers,  each  one  a  master  of  his  own 
particular  instrument.  These  were  the  only  concerts 
in  those  days,  and  with  their  pittance  assured,  and 
no  anxiety  as  to  housing  or  clothing  themselves,  and 
with  the  love  of  art  as  their  only  duty,  you  may 
imagine,  Gabriel,  what  musicians  they  could  become. 
For  this  reason,  when  the  friars  were  expelled  from 
their  convents  the  Jeronomites  were  not  the  worst 
off.  There  was  no  need  to  beg  masses  in  the  churches 
or  to  live  on  the  charity  of  devout  families ;  they  were 
able  to  earn  their  bread  by  an  art  conscientiously 
studied,   and   consequently    they   soon    got    places    as 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  105 

organists  and  Chapel-masters ;  the  Chapters  really 
fought  for  them.  Some  were  more  venturesome,  and, 
anxious  to  see  more  of  that  musical  world  which  had 
seemed  to  them  while  in  their  convents  a  vision  of 
Paradise,  entered  the  orchestras  of  theatres,  many 
travelling  even  to  Italy,  transforming  themselves  so 
entirely  that  even  their  own  former  prior  could  not 
have  recognised  them.  One  of  these  was  my  little 
father.  What  a  man  !  He  was  a  good  Christian,  but 
he  had  thrown  himself  so  thoroughly  into  music  that 
he  retained  very  little  of  the  former  friar.  When  he 
was  told  that  probably  the  convents  would  be  re-estab- 
lished, he  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  indifference, 
a  new  sonata  interested  him  much  more.  He  some- 
times said  things  that  have  always  lived  in  my  memory. 
I  remember  one  day  when  I  was  a  child  he  took 
me  to  a  meeting  of  musical  friends  in  Madrid,  who 
played,    for    their    own    pleasure    only,    the    famous 

*  Seventh  Symphony.'  Do  you  know  it  ?  It  is  the 
freshest  and  most  graceful  of  all  Beethoven's  works. 
I  remember  my  little  father  leaving  the  room  quite 
wrapped  up  in  himself,  with  his  head  bent,  dragging 
me  along,  for  I  could  hardly  keep  up  with  his  long 
footsteps,  and  when  we  got  home  he  looked  at  me 
fixedly,   as   though    I    had    been   a   grown-up   person. 

*  Listen,  Luis,'  he  said,  '  and  remember  this  well. 
There  is  only  one  Lord  in  the  world.  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  there  are  two  lesser  lords,  Galileo  and 
Beethoven.'  " 

The  musician  looked  lovingl}-  at  the  plaster  bust 
which  faced  the  room  from  one  corner,  with  its  leonine 
brows  and  the  diffident  eyes  of  a  deaf  person. 

**  I  do  not  know  much  about  Galileo,"  continued 
Don  Luis.  "  I  know  that  he  was  a  very  wise  man, 
and  a  scientific  genius.     I    am    only   a   musician   and 


I06THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

I  know  very  little  about  other  things,  but  I  adore 
Beethoven,  and  I  think  my  httle  father  did  the  same — 
he  is  a  god ;  the  most  extraordinary  man  the  world  has 
ever  produced.     Don't  you  think  so,  Gabriel  ?  " 

His  nerves  were  quivering  with  his  excitement,  and 
getting  up,  he  walked  rapidly  up  and  down  the  room, 
trampling  on  all  the  loose  sheets  of  music. 

"  Ay !  how  I  envy  you,  Gabriel,  having  travelled 
so  much,  and  having  heard  so  many  good  things  !  The 
other  night  I  could  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  all  you 
had  told  me  about  your  life  in  Paris — those  beautiful 
Sunday  afternoons  when  you  would  go  to  the  Lamoureux 
concerts,  or  sometimes  to  Colonnas,  giving  yourself 
a  surfeit  of  sublimity !  And  here  am  I,  shut  up,  my 
only  hope  being  perhaps  to  conduct  a  Mass  of  Rossini's 
at  one  of  the  great  festivals !  My  only  comfort  is  to 
read  music,  instructing  myself  thoroughly  in  those 
great  works  that  so  many  fools  in  the  towns  can  listen 
to  half  asleep  and  bored.  Here  I  have,  in  this  pile, 
the  nine  symphonies  of  the  great  man — his  innumerable 
sonatas,  his  masses,  and  together  with  him,  Haydn, 
Mozart,  Mendelssohn,  in  fact  all  the  great  writers.  I 
have  even  Wagner.  I  read  them,  and  I  play  what 
is  possible  on  the  harmonium.  But — it  is  just  as  if 
you  were  to  describe  the  drawing  and  colours  of  a 
picture  to  a  blind  man,  buried  in  this  cloister.  I  know, 
blindly,  that  there  are  most  beautiful  things  in  this 
world — for  those  who  can  hear  them." 

The  Chapel-master  kept  from  the  previous  year  the 
remembrance  of  a  great  happiness,  and  he  spoke  of  it 
enthusiastically.  He  had  been  chosen  by  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  to  go  to  Madrid,  to  be  one  of  a  board  of 
examiners  for  organists. 

"  That  was  the  best  time  I  ever  had  in  my  life, 
Gabriel.     One  evening  I  listened  to  Wagner,  dressed  in 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  107 

the  clothes  of  a  friend  of  mine,  a  viohnist,  who  plays 
here  in  Toledo  at  the  great  festivals.  I  heard  the 
Walkyria  in  the  pit  of  the  Real  Theatre,  another  night 
I  went  to  a  concert ;  but  the  greatest  night  of  all  was 
the  one  on  which  I  heard  the  Ninth  Symphony  of  that 
ugly  old  fellow,  of  that  deaf,  bad-tempered  genius  who 
is  listening  to  us." 

And  with  one  bound  the  musician  rushed  to  the  bust, 
kissing  it  with  childish  humility,  just  as  a  child  would 
caress  a  stern  and  domineering  father. 

"You  know  the  Ninth  Symphony;  true,  Gabriel  ? 
And  what  did  you  feel  as  you  listened  to  it  ?  When  I 
listen  to  music  strange  things  happen  to  me.  I  close 
my  eyes  and  I  see  unknown  countries  and  strange  faces, 
and  whenever  I  hear  the  same  works  the  same  visions 
are  repeated.  If  I  speak  about  this  with  any  of  the  people 
down  below  they  say  I  am  mad,  but  I  know  that  you 
feel  as  I  do,  and  I  am  not  afraid  that  you  will  laugh  at 
me.  There  are  musical  passages  that  make  me  see  the 
sea,  blue  and  boundless,  with  silvery  waves,  and  this, 
though  I  have  never  seen  the  ocean  ;  other  works  bring 
before  me  woods  and  castles,  or  groups  of  shepherds 
with  white  flocks;  with  Schubert  I  always  see  two 
lovers  sighing  at  the  foot  of  a  linden  tree,  and  certain 
French  composers  bring  before  my  mind's  eye  beautiful 
women  walking  among  beds  of  roses,  dressed  in  violet, 
always  violet.  And  you,  Gabriel,  do  not  you  see  these 
things  ?  " 

The  anarchist  assented — yes,  music  awoke  in  him  also 
a  world  of  fantastic  visions,  far  more  beautiful  than 
reality. 

"  I  remember,"  went  on  the  priest,  "  what  the  Ninth 
Symphony  made  me  see.  I  see  it  still  if  I  only  hum  some 
of  its  passages.  Oh !  that  graceful  Scherzo  with  its 
strange  tremolos  !     I  thought,  hearing  it,  that  God  and 


io8  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

his  court  of  saints  had  left  the  heavens  to  take  a  walk, 
leaving  the  little  angels  masters  of  the  house,  full 
liberty  !  Universal  gambols  !  The  heavenly  children, 
without  any  restraint,  sported  from  cloud  to  cloud, 
amusing  themselves  by  scattering  on  the  earth  the  gar- 
lands of  flowers  that  the  saints  had  left  behind  them  ; 
one  let  loose  the  rain  and  made  it  fall  on  the  earth  ; 
another  seized  the  key  of  the  thunder  and  touched  it, 
fearful  peals  which  frightened  all  the  revellers  and  made 
them  fly.  But  they  returned  again  to  continue  their 
graceful  play,  beginning  afresh  their  noisy  games  that 
the  thunder  had  disturbed.  And  the  Adagio  !  What 
do  you  say  about  that  ?  Do  you  know  anything  softer, 
more  loving  or  so  divinely  peaceful  ?  Human  beings 
will  never  speak  like  this  again,  however  much  progress 
they  make.  Hearing  it,  I  thought  of  those  fresco- 
painted  ceilings  with  mythological  figures — gods  and 
goddesses  with  pink  flesh  and  flowing  curves,  Apollo 
and  Venus  reclining  on  a  mountain  of  pink  and  gold 
clouds,  like  a  lovely  dawn." 

"  Chaplain,  what  has  come  to  you  ?  "  said  Gabriel ; 
"  this  is  not  very  Christian." 

"  No,  but  it  is  artistic,"  said  the  musician  simply. 
*'  I  do  not  trouble  myself  much  about  religion,  I  believe 
what  I  was  taught,  and  I  have  never  taken  the  trouble 
to  inquire  any  further.  Music  alone  occupies  me,  of 
which  someone  has  said  *  that  it  will  be  the  religion  of 
the  future,'  the  purest  manifestation  of  the  ideal. 
Everything  that  is  beautiful  delights  me,  and  I  believe 
in  it  as  a  work  of  God.  *  I  believe  in  God  and  in 
Beethoven,'  as  his  pupil  said — and  besides,  how  much 
religion  the  grandeur  of  music  contains  !  Do  you  know 
the  last  quartet  that  Beethoven  wrote  ?  He  felt  he  was 
dying,  and  he  wrote  on  the  edge  of  the  score  this  terrible 
question  :  *  Must   it  be  ?  '   and  lower  down   he  added, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  109 

*  Yes,  it  must  be,  it  must  be.'  It  was  necessary  to  die, 
even  for  such  a  genius  to  leave  life,  while  he  still  carried 
in  his  mind  such  glorious  things,  to  pay  the  tribute  of 
human  renovation  ;  and  then  he  wrote  that  lament,  that 
farewell  to  life,  whose  greatness  cannot  be  equalled  by 
any  song,  or  by  any  words  of  religion." 

The  musician  sat  down  to  the  harmonium,  and  for  a 
long  while  played  that  last  lament  of  the  genius,  his 
sorrowful  complaint  on  crossing  the  threshold,  not 
despairing  and  trembling  through  fear  of  the  unknown, 
but  with  a  brave  melanchol}',  sinking  into  the  eternal 
shadow,  confident  that  nothing  could  obscure  his  genius. 

These  evenings  of  artistic  communion  in  that  corner 
of  the  sleepy  Cathedral  drew  the  two  men  together  with 
an  ever  increasing  affection.  The  musican  talked, 
turning  over  his  scores,  or  playing  his  harmonium  ;  the 
revolutionist  listened  silently,  only  interrupting  his 
friend  by  his  painful  cough.  They  were  evenings  of 
sweet  sadness  that  these  two  men  spent  together,  one 
dreaming  of  leaving  the  stone  prison  of  the  Cathedral 
to  see  the  world,  the  other  returning  from  life  wounded 
and  breathless,  content  with  the  obscure  repose  of  the 
beautiful  church,  and  guarding  with  prudent  silence  the 
secret  of  his  past.  Art  shone  for  them  like  the  rays  of 
the  sun  in  the  grey  and  monotonous  atmosphere  of  the 
Cathedral. 

When  they  met  in  the  early  mornings  in  the  cloister 
the  conversation  between  the  two  friends  generally  ran 
on  the  same  lines. 

"  This  evening,  eh  ?  "  the  Chapel-master  would  say 
mysteriously.  "  I  have  some  fresh  music,  we  shall  enjoy 
something  new  that  I  have  been  sent  to-day,  and  besides, 
I  wrote  a  little  thing  last  night." 

The  anarchist  nodded  affirmatively,  quite  ready  to 
serve  as  entertainment  for  this  pariah  of  art,  who  saw  in 


no  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

him  his  only  audience,  and  who  took  so  much  kindly 
trouble  to  interest  him.  \ 

While  the  services  lasted  Gabriel  would  walklBone 
in  the  cloisters;  all  the  men  were  in  the  Cathedral, 
except  the  shoemaker,  who  was  mending  the  giants. 
Tired  of  the  chattering  of  the  women  who  stood  at  the 
doors  of  the  Claverias,  he  would  go  lip  to  the  dwelling 
of  the  bell-ringer,  his  old  companion  in  arms,  or  he 
would  go  down  into  the  garden  by  the  remarkable 
staircase  del  Tenorio  when  it  was  open,  or  by  the  arch- 
bishop's archway  crossing  the  street. 

He  delighted  in  passing  an  hour  under  the  trees ;  he 
found  in  the  garden  as  many  memories  of  his  family  as 
in  the  "  habitacion  "  upstairs.  Besides,  he  was  tired  of 
always  finding  his  walks  bounded  by  stone  walls,  which 
reminded  him  of  his  prison,  and  he  wanted  the  move- 
ment of  the  vegetation  caressed  by  the  breeze  to  foster 
the  illusion  that  he  was  living  in  complete  liberty  in  the 
open  country. 

In  the  arbour,  where  he  had  formerly  so  often  seen 
his  father,  infirm  and  crippled  with  age,  directing  his 
eldest  son,  who  received  all  his  orders  impassively,  he 
would  now  meet  his  Aunt  Tomasa,  knitting  her  stock- 
ings, and  watching  with  vigilant  eyes  the  work  of  a  boy 
whom  she  had  taken  into  her  service. 

Gabriel's  aunt  was  by  far  the  most  important  person 
in  the  Claverias ;  her  word  was  worth  quite  as  much  as 
Don  Antolin's,  the  Silver  Stick  was  afraid  of  her,  bend- 
ing before  the  powerful  protection  that  they  all  guessed 
stood  behind  the  poor  old  woman.  In  the  days  when 
her  father,  Gabriel's  maternal  grandfather,  was  sacristan 
in  the  Cathedral  the  functions  of  acolyte  were  exer- 
cised by  a  small  boy,  nephew  of  one  of  the  beneficiaries 
of  the  Cathedral,  who  ended  by  paying  for  his  education 
in  the  seminary.     This  little  acolyte  of  half  a  century 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  iii 

before  was  now  a  prince  of  the  church,  and  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Toledo.  Old  Tomasa  and  he  had  known 
each  other  as  children,  fighting  over  trifles  in  the  upper 
cloister,  or  playing  tricks  on  the  beggars  who  sat  at  the 
Puerta  del  Mollete.  The  imposing  Don  Sebastian, 
whose  look  alone  made  the  Chapter  and  all  the  clergy 
in  the  diocese  tfemble,  became  happy,  fraternal  and 
confidential,  when  now  and  then  in  the  evenings  he 
saw  Tomasa.  She  was  the  only  living  reminder  of  his 
childhood  in  the  Cathedral.  The  old  woman  would 
kiss  his  ring  with  great  reverence,  but  very  soon  she 
would  lapse  into  talking  to  him  as  one  of  her  own 
family,  often  very  nearly  speaking  to  him  in  the  second 
person.  The  cardinal,  always  surrounded  by  fear  and 
adulation,  often  felt  the  necessity  of  the  old  woman's 
careless  and  frank  conversation.  The  people  belonging 
to  the  Cathedral  declared  that  the  Sefiora  Tomasa  was 
the  only  person  who  dared  to  tell  the  cardinal  home- 
truths  face  to  face,  and  t^e  neighbours  in  the  Claverias 
felt  their  pride  flattered  when  they  saw  the  prince  of 
the  church  sweeping  down  th^  stone  steps  in  his 
brilliant  scarlet  robes  to  sit  in  the  arbour  and  gossip 
for  a  good  hour  with  the  old  woman,  while  his  atten- 
dants remained  respectfully  standing  at  the  gate  of  the 
iron  railings. 

Tomasa  was  not  puffed  up  with  this  honour  ;  to  her 
this  ecclesiastical  prince  was  only  the  friend  of  her 
childhood,  who  had  had  a  certain  amount  of  good  luck  ; 
and  in  the  end,  he  was  only  Don  Sebastian,  without 
going  any  further  into  ceremonies  and  formulas  of 
respect.  But  her  family  knew  how  to  take  advantage 
of  this  friendship,  especially  her  son-in-law,  "  Virgin's 
Blue,"  a  hypocrite,  as  the  old  woman  declared,  who 
would  make  money  out  of  the  very  cobwebs  of  the 
Cathedral ;  an  insatiable  locust  who,  profiting  by  the 


112  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

friendship  of  the  cardinal  and  his  mother-in-law,  went 
on  continually  obtaining  fresh  privileges,  without  the 
priests  and  sacristans  daring  to  make  the  slightest  pro- 
test, seeing  him  so  well  protected. 

Gabriel  much  enjoyed  his  aunt's  talk.  She  was  the  only 
person  born  in  the  cloister  who  seemed  to  have  freed  her- 
self from  the  soporific  influence  of  the  church.  She  loved 
the  Cathedral,  as  being  her  ancient  roof-tree,  but  she 
did  not  retain  much  respect  for  the  saints  in  the  chapels, 
nor  for  the  human  dignitaries  who  sat  in  the  choir. 
She  laughed  with  the  happiness  of  a  healthy  and  placid 
old  woman,  her  seventy  years  being,  as  she  said,  quite 
free  from  any  evil  done  to  her  neighbour.  Her  language 
was  free  and  easy,  like  that  of  a  woman  who  has  seen 
much,  and  does  not  believe  in  human  majesty  or  irre- 
proachable virtues ;  but  the  bed-rock  of  her  character 
was  its  tolerance,  her  compassion  for  all  faults,  but  she 
was  indignant  with  those  who  attempted  to  hide  them. 

"  They  are  all  men,  Gabriel,"  she  would  say  to  her 
nephew,  speaking  of  the  clergy  of  the  Cathedral.  "  Don 
Sebastian  is  only  a  man  ;  all  sinners  who  have  much  to 
answer  for  before  God.  They  cannot  be  anything  else, 
and  so  I  forgive  them.  But  believe  me,  nephew,  I  often 
feel  inclined  to  laugh  when  I  see  the  people  kneeling 
before  them.  I  believe  in  the  Virgin  of  the  Sagrario, 
and  a  little  in  God ;  but  in  these  gentlemen  !  If  you 
only  knew  them  as  I  do !  But,  when  all  is  said  and 
done,  we  must  all  live,  and  the  evil  is  not  in  having 
faults,  but  in  attempting  to  hide  them  ;  playing  a  farce 
with  the  shamelessness  of  my  son-in-law  who,  here  as 
you  see  him,  is  as  proud  as  a  castle,  beats  his  breast, 
kisses  the  ground  like  the  Beatas,^  and  yet  he  is  anxious 
for  my  death,  thinking  I  have  something  laid  away  in  my 

'  Beata — woman  engaged  in  works  of  charity  who  wears  the 
religious  habit. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  113 

chest;  he  filches  what  he  can  from  the  Virgin's  poor- 
box,  steals  the  wax  tapers,  and  plays  tricks  with  what  is 
paid  for  masses,  and  yet  he  would  be  in  the  street  if  it 
were  not  for  me,  who  always  think  of  my  poor  sick 
daughter  and  my  poor  little  grandchildren." 

When  Gabriel  went  down  to  see  her  in  the  garden, 
she  always  received  him  with  the  same  salutation  : 

"  Hola,  you  ghost !  but  to-day  you  are  looking  better, 
you  are  being  patched  up.  I  believe  your  brother  will 
pull  you  through  with  all  his  care." 

And  then  followed  a  comparison  between  her  healthy 
and  vigorous  old  age  and  his  ruined  youth,  which  was 
fighting  so  tenaciously  against  death. 

"  Here  you  see  my  seventy  years,  and  never  an 
illness  in  all  my  life.  Summer  and  winter  I  never  hear 
four  o'clock  strike  in  bed,  and  all  my  teeth  are  as  sound 
as  in  the  days  when  Don  Sebastian  came  in  his  red 
dress  as  server  in  the  church  and  wanted  to  steal  half 
my  breakfast.  You  Lunas  have  always  been  delicate ; 
your  father,  long  before  he  was  my  age,  could  barely 
walk,  and  was  always  complaining  of  rheum  and  of  the 
damp  in  this  garden.  Here  am  I  in  it  constantly,  and 
I  feel  just  the  same  as  when  I  am  upstairs  in  the 
Claverias.  We,  the  Villalpandos,  are  made  of  iron  ;  for, 
of  course,  we  are  descended  from  that  famous  Villal- 
pando  who  made  the  screen  of  the  high  altar,  the 
custodia,  and  an  innumerable  quantity  of  other  things. 
He  really  must  have  been  a  giant,  to  judge  by  the  ease 
with  which  he  twisted  and  moulded  every  sort  of 
metal." 

Gabriel's  ill-health  awoke  in  her  the  deepest  com- 
passion, but  all  the  same  not  quite  free  from  malicious 
suggestions. 

"  How  much  you  must  have  amused  yourself  about 
the  world,  eh,  nephew  ?     But  that  war  was  your  perdition ; 

c.  I 


114  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

without  it  you  would  now  have  had  your  stall  in 
the  choir,  and  who  knows  if  you  might  not  have  come 
to  be  another  Don  Sebastian.  The  truth  is,  that  from 
his  childhood  no  one  spoke  half  as  much  about  him  in 
the  seminary  as  they  did  of  you,  and  he  certainly  was 
no  prodigy  of  learning.  But  you  saw  the  world,  and 
you  took  a  fancy  to  those  countries  where  they  say  the 
ladies  are  very  pretty,  and  wear  hats  as  large  as  parasols. 
You  are  a  monster  of  ugliness  now,  but  you  were  very 
smart,  though  I,  who  am  your  aunt,  say  so.  And  now 
you  have  come  back  so  lean  and  suffering  !  You  must 
have  lived  very  fast ;  who  knows  what  you  have  done 
in  the  world — sly  boots  !  And  your  poor  mother,  who 
thought  you  would  be  a  saint !  God  have  mercy  on 
us !  Don't  deny  it ;  you  have  done  no  good  and  I  hate 
lies.  You  did  right  to  enjoy  yourself  and  to  take 
advantage  of  every  opportunity,  but  the  misfortune  is 
that  you  should  have  returned  as  you  are,  for  it  is 
pitiful  to  see  you,  but  I  have  known  a  great  many  like 
you.  I  don't  know  what  evil  spirit  possesses  people 
belonging  to  the  church,  but  once  they  throw  them- 
selves into  life,  they  don't  know  where  to  stop,  and 
they  burn  the  candle  at  both  ends  till  there  is  next  to 
nothing  left ;  many  of  them,  like  you,  have  passed 
through  the  seminary." 

One  morning  Gabriel  asked  a  question  of  his  aunt 
that  he  had  been  long  thinking  about,  but  that  he  had 
never  before  dared  to  put  into  words.  He  wanted  to 
know  all  about  his  niece,  Sagrario,  and  what  had 
happened  in  his  brother's  house. 

*'  You  who  are  so  kind,  aunt,  you  will  tell  me ;  every- 
one seems  afraid  to  speak  about  it ;  even  my  nephew  the 
Tato,  who  is  such  a  chatterer  and  skins  everyone  in 
the  Claverias,  is  silent  when  I  ask  him.  What  happened, 
aunt  ?  " 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  115 

The  old  woman's  face  grew  very  sad. 

"A  great  misfortune,  my  son,  such  as  was  never  known 
before  in  the  upper  cloister.  The  madness  of  the 
world  came  into  the  Cathedral,  and  made  a  nest  in  the 
most  honoured,  most  ancient,  and  most  respectable 
house  in  the  Claverias.  We  are  all  good  people, 
though  we  have  never  seen  as  much  of  the  world  as  can 
be  seen  from  a  skylight,  and  live  here  as  though  wrapped 
in  cotton  wool,  but  you  Lunas  have  always  been  the 
best  among  the  best,  to  say  nothing  of  us  Villalpandos, 
who  come  close  behind.  Ay  !  if  your  mother  could 
raise  her  head  !  If  your  father  were  ahve  !  But  I  lay 
all  the  blame  on  your  brother,  as  being  weak  and  a 
simpleton,  having  that  cursed  blindness  of  all  fathers, 
who  ignore  the  danger  in  the  hope  of  marrying  their 
daughters  well." 

'*  Well,  but  how  was  it,  aunt  ?  What  passed  between 
my  niece  and  the  cadet  ?  " 

"  What  happens  frequently  in  the  world,  but  what  has 
never  happened  here  before.  A  thousand  times  I  said 
to  my  brother,  *  See,  Esteban,  this  young  gentleman  is 
not  for  your  daughter  ' — very  sympathetic,  very  lively, 
and  wearing  the  uniform  of  the  Academy  like  no  one 
else,  leader  of  a  group  of  the  wildest  cadets  in  all  their 
escapades  about  the  town,  besides  a  son  of  a  great 
family — wealthy  people  who  did  not  allow  him  to  come 
to  Toledo  with  his  purse  empty.  And  she — the  poor 
Sagrario,  crazy  with  love,  flattered  by  her  cadet,  as 
proud  as  possible  when  she  walked  on  Sundays  through 
the  Zocodover  and  the  Miradero  between  her  mother 
and  that  handsome  young  lover,  that  all  the  girls  in  the 
place  envied  her.  The  beauty  of  your  niece  was  the 
talk  of  all  Toledo ;  the  girls  in  the  college  for  noble 
ladies,  nicknamed  her  the  *  sacristana  '  of  the  Cathedral; 
but   the  poor   girl  lived  only  for  her   cadet,  and  she 

I  2 


II6THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

seemed  to  devour  him  with  her  beautiful  blue  eyes. 
That  idiot,  your  brother,  let  him  come  to  the  house, 
proud  of  the  honour  that  was  being  done  to  the  family. 
You  know,  Gabriel,  the  eternal  blindness  of  those 
middle-class  Toledans,  who  encourage  with  pride  the 
courtship  of  one  of  their  girls  by  a  cadet,  though  they 
are  perfectly  well  aware  that  it  is  most  rare  that  one  of 
these  courtships  should  end  in  marriage.  There  is  no 
woman  here  with  the  slightest  pretence  to  a  pretty  face 
who  has  escaped  without  her  mouthful  of  love  for  one 
of  those  red  pantaloons.  Even  I  remember  when  I  was 
a  girl  how  I  would  smooth  my  hair  and  pull  out  my 
dress  when  I  heard  the  rattle  of  a  sword  on  the  flags  of 
the  cloister.  It  is  a  blindness  that  descends  from 
mothers  to  daughters,  and  the  worst  is,  that  those 
cursed  ones  have  all  their  cousins  and  their  lovers  in 
their  own  country,  and  to  them  they  return  as  soon  as 
they  leave  the  Academy." 

"That  is  true,  aunt,  but  what  happened  to  my 
niece  ?  " 

**  When  the  young  man  passed  out  a  lieutenant,  his 
family  decided  he  ought  to  return  to  Madrid.  The 
farewells  were  like  a  scene  at  the  theatre.  I  believe 
that  even  your  brother  and  that  simpleton  his  wife, 
who  is  now  in  glory,  wept  as  though  the  lover  were 
theirs.  The  young  people  sat  for  hours  with  clasped 
hands,  gazing  into  each  other's  eyes,  as  though  they 
would  devour  each  other.  He  was  the  calmest ;  he 
promised  to  come  every  Sunday  and  to  write  every 
day,  and  at  first  he  did  so,  but  before  long  many  weeks 
passed  without  his  coming,  and  the  postman  came  up 
less  often  to  the  Claverias,  and  at  last  did  not  come  at 
all — it  was  ended,  the  young  lieutenant  found  other 
amusements  in  Madrid.  Your  poor  niece  was  like  one 
demented ;  the  colour  in   her  face  faded,  she  was  no 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  117 

longer  like  the  beautiful  ripe  apricot,  with  the  soft  skin 
that  made  you  long  to  bite  it.  She  wept  like  a 
Magdalen  in  every  corner — and  one  day  the  foolish 
girl  fled — and  up  to  now " 

"  But  where  was  she  ?     Did  no  one  search  for  her  ?  " 

"  Your  brother  seemed  quite  dazed.  Poor  Esteban  ! 
several  nights  we  found  him  half  dressed  in  the  upper 
cloister,  as  stiff  as  a  post,  gazing  up  at  the  heavens  with 
eyes  that  looked  like  glass.  He  became  furious  if  any  of  us 
spoke  of  searching  for  the  child;  the  scandal  was  past 
remedy,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  aggravate  it  by  her 
return,  bringing  back  a  lost  one  to  the  Holy  Metro- 
politan Church,  and  to  the  honoured  house  of  the 
Lunas.  For  more  than  a  year  everyone  in  the 
Claverias  seemed  crushed  by  this  blow  ;  it  seemed  as 
though  we  were  all  in  mourning.  You  see,  that  such 
a  thing  should  occur  in  the  Cathedral  where  the  years 
pass  by  in  blessed  peace  without  any  of  us  saying  one 
word  louder  than  the  other  !  And  then  I  remembered 
you.  It  seemed  impossible  that  from  these  Lunas,  so 
quiet  and  steady,  should  have  sprung  a  girl  with 
sufficient  pluck  to  run  away  to  Madrid,  where  she  had 
never  been  before,  to  join  a  man,  without  fear  of  God 
or  of  her  own  people.  To  whom  could  I  liken  the 
unhappy  child  ?  To  her  uncle,  to  Gabriel  who  passed 
for  a  saint,  but  who,  nevertheless,  after  fighting  like  a 
wolf,  wandered  all  over  the  world  just  like  a  gipsy." 

Gabriel  made  no  protest  at  the  conception  his  aunt 
had  formed  of  his  past. 

"  And  after  her  flight  ?  What  did  you  know  about 
the  child?" 

"  At  first  a  good  deal,  but  latterly  not  a  word.  The 
two  were  living  in  Madrid  together,  peacefully  and 
quietly,  away  from  the  world,  as  though  they  were  man 
and  wife.     This  lasted  for  a  good  while,  and  I,  hearing 


II8THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

about  it,  began  to  wonder  if  I  had  not  been  mistaken, 
and  that  the  man  we  had  blamed  so  much  had  repented 
and  would  end  by  marrying  Sagrario.  But  at  the  end 
of  the  year  everything  was  ended ;  he  grew  tired,  and 
the  family  intervened,  in  order  that  the  escapade  should 
not  cut  short  the  career  they  had  marked  out  for  the 
young  man.  They  even  sought  the  aid  of  the  police, 
to  frighten  the  child,  so  that  she  should  not  molest  the 
young  officer  in  the  first  angry  transports  of  her  deser- 
tion. Afterwards — nothing  certain  is  known.  Now 
and  again  those  who  have  gone  to  Madrid  told  me  a 
little  ;  some  of  them  had  seen  her,  but  it  would  have 
been  far  better  if  they  had  not  seen  her.  It  is  a 
disgrace,  Gabriel ;  a  dishonour  for  your  family  which 
is  mine.  This  unhappy  girl  is  the  worst  of  the  worst. 
I  heard  that  she  had  been  very  ill,  and  I  believe 
that  she  is  so  still.  Just  imagine,  what  a  life! 
And  for  five  years !  What  will  have  happened  to  the 
unfortunate  girl !  And  to  think  that  she  is  my  sister's 
daughter  !  " 

The  Sefiora  Tomasa  spoke  with  deep  feeling. 

"  Afterwards,  Gabriel,  you  know  what  happened 
here  ;  your  poor  sister-in-law  died,  we  hardly  knew  why, 
it  was  only  a  matter  of  a  few  days  ;  possibly  she  may 
have  died  of  the  shame,  as  she  died  saying  that  the 
fault  was  entirely  hers.  It  broke  one's  heart  to  see  the 
state  your  brother  was  in  after  all  this.  Esteban  has 
never  been  good  for  much,  and  now  after  this  affair  of 
his  daughter  he  seemed  to  become  quite  imbecile.  Ay, 
nephew !  I  also  have  felt  it  greatly,  even  though  you 
see  me  so  happy,  and  so  satisfied  with  life,  every  now 
and  then  the  remembrance  of  that  unhappy  girl  strikes 
me  here,  in  my  head,  and  I  eat  badly  and  sleep  worse, 
thinking  that  a  girl  who,  after  all,  is  of  our  own  blood, 
is  wandering  lost  over  the  world,  a  plaything  for  men, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  119 

without  anyone  sheltering  her,  as  though  she  were  all 
alone,  as  though  she  had  no  family." 

The  Senora  Tomasa  wiped  her  eye  with  the  point  of 
her  forefinger,  her  voice  shook  and  the  tears  fell  over 
her  wrinkled  old  cheeks. 

"  Aunt,  you  are  very  kind,"  said  Gabriel,  "  but  you 
ought  to  have  searched  more  for  this  poor  girl ;  you 
ought  to  have  recovered  her,  to  have  saved  her,  to  have 
brought  her  back  here.  We  must  be  merciful  to  the 
weakness  of  others,  especially  when  that  other  is  one  of 
our  own  fiesh." 

*'  Ay,  son  !  Who  do  you  say  it  to  ?  A  thousand  times 
I  have  thought  this,  but  I  was  afraid  of  your  brother. 
He  is  like  a  bit  of  dough,  but  he  turns  into  a  wild  beast 
if  you  speak  to  him  of  his  daughter.  Even  if  we  found 
her  and  brought  her  here  he  would  not  receive  her ; 
he  would  be  as  angry  as  if  you  were  proposing  some 
sacrilege  to  him.  He  could  not  calmly  bear  her 
presence  in  the  house  which  was  that  of  your  fore- 
fathers. Besides,  though  he  does  not  say  so,  he  fears 
the  scandal  among  the  neighbours  in  the  Claverias  who 
know  what  had  happened.  This  is  the  easiest  part  to 
arrange,  as  they  would  be  very  careful  not  to  open  their 
mouths  when  I  am  among  them.  But  your  brother 
frightens  me,  and  I  do  not  dare." 

"I  will  help  you,"  said  Gabriel  firmly.  "Let  us 
seek  for  the  child,  and  once  we  have  found  her  I  will 
undertake  to  manage  Esteban." 

"  It  will  be  most  difficult  to  find  her.  For  a  long 
time  we  have  heard  nothing.  Doubtless  those  who  do 
see  her  are  careful  to  say  nothing  for  fear  of  paining 
us.  But  I  will  try  and  find  out — we  will  see,  Gabriel — 
we  will  think  about  her." 

"And  the  canons?  and  the  cardinal?  Will  they  not 
oppose  the  return  of  the  poor  girl  to  the  Claverias  ?  " 


120  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Bah  !  The  thing  happened  some  time  ago,  and  few 
of  them  will  remember  it ;  besides,  we  might  place  the 
girl  in  a  convent,  where  she  would  be  looked  after  and 
quiet,  and  cause  scandal  to  no  one." 

"  No,  not  that,  aunt.  It  is  a  cruel  remedy.  We 
have  no  right  to  try  and  save  this  poor  girl  at  the  cost 
of  her  liberty." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  old  woman,  after  a  few 
moments'  reflection.  "  I  don't  care  much  for  these 
nuns  myself.  Where  would  she  be  more  likely  to 
follow  a  good  example  than  in  the  heart  of  her  own 
family  ?  We  will  bring  her  back  to  this  house  if  she 
repents  and  wishes  for  peace.  And  I  will  scratch  out 
the  eyes  of  the  first  woman  in  the  Claverias  who  dares 
to  say  anything  against  her.  My  son-in-law  will  pro- 
bably pretend  to  be  scandalised,  but  I  will  settle  him. 
It  would  be  much  better  if  he  did  not  wink  at  the  walks 
that  Juanito,  that  cadet  nephew  of  Don  Sebastian's, 
takes  in  the  cloister  whenever  my  granddaughter  stands 
at  the  door.  The  crackbrained  fellow  dreams  of  nothing 
less  than  becoming  related  to  the  cardinal,  and  seeing 
his  daughter  a  general's  wife  ;  he  might  remember  poor 
Sagrario.  And  as  far  as  regards  Don  Sebastian,  you 
may  be  quite  easy,  Gabriel.  He  will  say  nothing  but 
that  we  ought  to  bring  the  child  back — and  what  should 
he  say  ?  People  ought  to  be  charitable  one  to  another, 
and  none  more  than  they ;  for  after  all,  Gabriel,  believe 
me — they  are  only  men,  nothing  but  men  !  " 


CHAPTER  V 

The  people  of  the  Primacy  always  received  with 
obstinate  silence  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  reigning 
prelate.  It  was  a  traditional  custom  in  the  Claverias, 
and  Gabriel  remembered  to  have  noticed  the  same  in 
his  childhood. 

If  they  spoke  of  the  preceding  archbishop,  these 
people,  so  used  to  grumbling,  like  all  those  who  live  in 
solitude,  would  loose  their  tongues  and  comment  on 
his  history  and  his  defects.  There  was  nothing  to  fear 
from  a  dead  prelate,  and  besides,  it  was  an  indirect 
praise  to  the  living  archbishop  and  his  favourites  to 
speak  ill  of  the  defunct.  But  if  during  the  conversation 
the  name  of  His  reigning  Eminence  arose,  they  were 
all  silent,  raising  their  hands  to  their  caps  to  salute,  as 
though  the  prince  of  the  church  were  able  to  see  them 
from  the  neighbouring  palace. 

Gabriel,  listening  to  his  companions  of  the  upper 
cloister,  remembered  the  funeral  judgment  of  the 
Egyptians.  In  the  Primacy  no  one  dared  to  speak  the 
truth  about  the  prelates,  or  to  discuss  their  faults  till 
death  had  taken  possession  of  them. 

The  most  that  they  dared  to  do  was  to  comment  on 
the  disagreements  among  the  canons,  to  compare 
their  lists  of  those  who  saluted  one  another  in  the 
choir,  or  who  glared  at  one  another  between  versicle 
and  antiphon  like  mad  dogs  ready  to  fly  at  one  another, 
or   to   speak   with    wonder   about   a    certain    polemic 


122  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

discussed  by  the  Doctoral  and  the  Obrero  in  the  Catholic 
papers  in  Madrid,  which  had  lasted  for  three  years, 
as  to  whether  the  deluge  was  partial  or  universal ; 
answering  each  other's  articles  with  an  interval  of  four 
months. 

A  group  of  friends  had  collected  round  Gabriel.  They 
sought  him,  feeling  the  necessity  of  his  presence, 
experiencing  that  attraction  exercised  by  those  who  are 
born  to  be  leaders  of  men  even  though  they  remain 
silent.  In  the  evenings  they  would  meet  in  the 
dwelling  of  the  bell-ringer,  or  when  it  was  fine  weather 
they  would  go  out  into  the  gallery  above  the  Puerta 
del  Perdon.  In  the  mornings  the  assembly  would  be 
in  the  house  of  the  shoemaker  who  mended  the  giants,  a 
yellow  little  man,  who  suffered  from  continual  pains- in 
his  head,  which  obliged  him  to  wear  sundry  coloured 
handkerchiefs  tied  round  his  head  in  the  fashion  of  a 
turban. 

He  was  the  poorest  in  all  the  Claverias ;  he  had  no 
appointment,  and  mended  the  giants  without  any 
remuneration  in  the  hopes  of  succeeding  to  the  first 
vacant  place,  feeling  very  grateful  to  those  gentlemen  of 
the  Chapter  who  gave  him  his  house  rent  free,  on  account 
of  his  wife  being  the  daughter  of  a  former  old  servant 
of  the  church.  The  smell  of  the  paste  and  of  the  damp 
floor  infected  his  house  with  the  rank  atmosphere  of 
poverty.  A  hopeless  fecundity  aggravated  this  poverty; 
his  sad,  placid  wife  with  her  big  yellow  eyes  appeared 
every  year  with  a  new  baby  tugging  at  her  flabby 
breast,  and  several  children  crept  along  the  cloister 
walls,  dull  and  inert  with  hunger,  with  enormous 
heads  and  thin  necks,  always  sickly,  though  none  of 
them  managed  to  die ;  afflicted  by  all  the  pains  of 
anaemia,  by  boils  that  arose  and  vanished  on  their 
faces,  and  watery  eruptions  covering  their  hands. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  123 

The  shoemaker  worked  for  the  shops  in  the  town, 
without,  however,  earning  much  money.  From  the 
rising  of  the  sun  one  could  hear  the  sound  of  his 
hammer  in  the  cloister.  This  sole  evidence  of  profane 
work  attracted  all  the  unoccupied  to  the  miserable  and 
evil-smelling  dwelling.  Mariano,  the  Tato,  and  a 
verger  who  also  lived  in  the  cloister,  were  those  who 
most  frequently  met  Gabriel,  seated  on  the  shoemaker's 
ragged  and  broken  chairs,  so  low  that  one  could  touch 
the  floor  of  red  and  dusty  bricks  with  one's  hands. 

Often  the  bell-ringer  would  run  to  his  tower  to  ring 
the  usual  bells,  but  his  vacant  place  would  be  imme- 
diately occupied  by  an  old  organ-blower,  or  some  of  the 
servants  from  the  sacristy,  all  attracted  by  what  they 
heard  of  these  meetings  of  the  lower  servants  of  the 
Primacy.  The  object  of  the  assembly  was  to  listen  to 
Gabriel.  The  revolutionary  wished  to  keep  silence,  and 
listened  absently  to  their  grumblings  at  the  daily  round 
of  worship ;  but  his  friends  longed  to  hear  about  those 
countries  in  which  he  had  travelled,  with  all  the  curio- 
sity of  people  who  lived  confined  and  isolated  ;  listening 
to  his  descriptions  of  the  beauties  of  Paris  and  the 
grandeur  of  London  they  would  open  their  eyes  like 
children  listening  to  a  fairy  tale. 

The  shoemaker  with  his  head  bent,  never  ceasing  his 
work,  listened  attentively  to  the  recital  of  such  marvels  ; 
when  Gabriel  was  silent  they  all  agreed  on  one  point,  those 
cities  must  be  far  more  beautiful  than  Madrid  ;  and  just 
think  how  beautiful  Madrid  was !  Even  the  shoe- 
maker's wife,  standing  in  the  corner  forgetful  of  her 
sickly  children,  would  listen  to  Luna  with  wonder,  her 
face  enlivened  by  a  feeble  smile,  which  showed  the 
woman  through  the  animal  resigned  to  misery,  when 
Luna  described  the  luxury  of  the  women  in  foreign  parts. 

All  these  servants  of  the  church  felt  their  narrowed  and 


124  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

dulled  minds  stirred  by  these  descriptions  of  a  distant 
world  that  they  were  never  likely  to  see;  the  splendours  of 
modern  civilisation  touched  them  much  more  nearly 
than  the  beauties  of  heaven  as  described  in  the  sermons, 
and  in  the  pungent  and  dusty  atmosphere  of  the  dirty 
little  house  they  would  see  unrolled  before  their  mind's 
eye  beautiful  and  fantastic  cities,  and  they  v/ould  ask 
questions  in  all  innocence  as  to  the  food  and  habits  of 
those  distant  people,  as  though  they  believed  them 
beings  of  a  different  species. 

Towards  evening,  at  the  hour  of  the  choir,  when  the 
shoemaker  was  working  alone,  Gabriel,  tired  of  the 
monotonous  silence  of  the  cloister,  would  go  down  into 
the  church. 

His  brother,  in  a  woollen  cloak  with  a  white  neck 
band,  and  a  staff  as  long  as  an  ancient  alguacil's,  stood 
as  sentry  in  the  crossways,  to  prevent  the  inquisitive 
passing  between  the  choir  and  the  high  altar. 

Two  tablets  of  old  gold  with  Gothic  letters,  hung  on 
to  one  of  the  pilasters,  set  forth  that  anyone  talking  in 
a  loud  voice  or  making  signs  in  the  church  would  be 
excommunicated ;  but  this  menace  of  former  centuries 
failed  to  impress  the  few  people  who  came  to  vespers 
and  gossiped  behind  one  of  the  pillars  with  some  of  the 
church  servants.  The  evening  light,  filtering  through 
the  stained  glass,  threw  on  the  pavement  great  patches 
of  colour,  and  the  priests  as  they  walked  over  this 
carpet  of  light  would  appear  green  or  red  according  to 
the  colours  flashed  from  the  windows. 

In  the  choir  the  canons  sang  for  themselves  only  in 
the  emptiness  of  the  church  ;  the  shutting  of  the  iron 
gates  of  the  screen,  opened  to  admit  some  late-coming 
priest,  echoed  like  explosions  throughout  the  building, 
and  above  the  choir  the  organ  joined  in  at  times  between 
the  plain  song,  but  it  sounded  lazily,  timidly,  as  though 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  125 

from  necessity,  and  seemed  to  lament  its  feebleness  in 
the  gathering  twilight. 

Gabriel  had  not  completed  the  round  of  the  Cathe- 
dral before  he  was  joined  by  his  nephew,  the  Perrero, 
who  left  his  conversation  with  the  servers  and  acolytes, 
and  with  the  errand  boy  belonging  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Chapter,  whose  fixed  seat  was  at  the  door  of  the 
Chapter-house.  Luna  was  always  very  much  diverted 
by  the  pranks  of  the  Tato,  and  the  confidence  and 
carelessness  with  which  he  moved  about  the  temple,  as 
though  having  been  born  in  it  deprived  him  of  all  feeling 
of  respect.  The  entry  of  a  dog  into  the  nave  caused 
great  excitement. 

"  Uncle,"  said  he  to  Luna,  "  you  shall  see  how  I  can 
open  my  cloak." 

Seizing  the  two  ends  of  his  garment  he  advanced 
towards  the  dog  with  the  contortions  and  bounds  of  a 
wrestler ;  the  animal,  knowing  this  of  old,  endeavoured 
to  escape  through  the  nearest  door,  but  the  Tato, 
cutting  off  his  retreat,  drove  him  into  the  nave,  and, 
pretending  to  pursue  him,  drove  him  from  chapel  to 
chapel,  finally  rounding  him  up  where  he  could  give 
him  some  good  sound  whacks.  The  dismal  bowlings 
disturbed  the  singing  of  the  canons,  and  the  Tato 
laughed  more  than  ever  to  see  behind  the  iron  railing 
of  the  choir,  the  angry  gesture  of  the  good  Esteban 
threatening  him  with  his  wooden  staff. 

**  Uncle,"  said  the  depraved  Perrero  one  evening, 
"you,  who  think  you  know  the  Cathedral  so  well,  have 
you  ever  seen  the  lively  things  in  it  ?  " 

The  wink  of  his  eye,  and  the  gesture  accompanying 
the  words  showed  that  the  things  might  very  well  be 
more  than  lively. 

*'  I  am  always  very  much  interested,"  he  went  on, 
"  with    the   jokes    the    ancients    allowed   themselves. 


126  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Come  along,  uncle,  it  will  amuse  you  for  a  little ;  you, 
like  all  those  who  think  they  know  the  Cathedral,  will 
have  passed  many  times  by  these  things  without 
noticing  them," 

Going  along  the  outside  of  the  choir,  the  Tato  led 
Gabriel  to  the  front  opposite  the  door  del  Perdon. 
Under  the  great  medallion,  which  serves  as  a  back  to 
the  Mount  Tabor,  the  work  of  Berruguete,  opens  the 
little  chapel  of  the  Virgin  of  the  Star.  "  Look  well  at 
that  image,  uncle.  Is  there  another  like  it  in  all  the 
world  ?  She  is  a  courtezan,  a  siren  who  would  drive 
men  mad  if  she  only  fluttered  her  eyelids." 

For  Gabriel  this  was  no  new  discovery ;  from  his 
childhood  he  had  known  that  beautiful  and  sensual 
figure,  with  its  worldly  smile,  its  rounded  outlines,  and 
its  eyes  with  their  expression  of  wanton  gaiety  as  though 
she  were  just  going  to  dance. 

The  child  in  her  arms  was  also  laughing  and  placing 
his  hand  on  the  bosom  of  the  beautiful  woman,  as 
though  he  intended  to  tear  the  covering  from  her 
breast.  The  image  of  painted  stone,  stuffed  and  gilt, 
wore  a  blue  mantle  strewn  with  stars,  from  whence  its 
name. 

"  Even  you,  who  have  read  so  much,  uncle,  may 
possibly  not  know  the  history  of  this  chapel,  which  is 
far  more  ancient  than  the  Cathedral.  The  woolstaplers, 
carders,  and  weavers  of  Toledo  had  their  patroness 
here  long  before  the  church  was  built,  and  they  only 
gave  up  their  right  to  the  ground  on  the  condition  that 
they  should  be  entire  masters  of  the  chapel,  and  do  in 
it  whatever  they  pleased  and  in  all  this  piece  of  the 
Cathedral  as  far  as  those  nearest  pillars.  Oh !  the 
trouble  this  wrought  1  On  the  days  they  held  their 
feasts  to  the  Virgin  they  never  paid  any  heed  to  the 
canons  in  the  choir,  and  they  greatly  disturbed  all  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  127 

offices  with  '  rabeles,'  ^  lutes  and  disorderly  songs.  If 
the  canons  begged  them  to  be  silent,  they  replied  that 
it  was  they  in  the  choir  who  ought  to  keep  silence, 
considering  that  they  were  in  their  own  chapel,  which 
was  far  more  ancient  than  the  Cathedral.  Did  you 
know  this,  uncle  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  remember  it  now.  The  Archbishop  Valero 
Loza  brought  a  suit  against  them  at  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century ;  you  can  see  his  tomb  at  the 
foot  of  the  altar.  He  lost  his  suit,  and  died  from 
disappointment.  He  desired  to  be  buried  in  that  place, 
so  that  the  insolent  wool  merchants  should  trample  on 
him  in  death,  even  as  they  had  vanquished  him  in 
his  lifetime.  The  haughtiness  of  these  ecclesiastical 
princes  drove  them  to  the  proudest  humility.  But  is 
this  all  you  wished  to  show  me  ?  " 

"  You  shall  see  better  things  than  this.  Let  us  say 
good-bye  to  the  Virgin.  But  do  look  at  her  !  What  a 
face  !  What  alluring  eyes  !  The  beautiful  woman !  I 
spend  hours  looking  at  her;  she  is  my  sweetheart.  Oh! 
the  many  nights  I  have  dreamt  of  her." 

They  walked  on  a  little  towards  the  great  doorway  of 
the  Cathedral,  so  as  to  obtain  a  better  view  of  the  exterior 
face  of  the  choir.  Above  the  three  hollows  or  chapels 
that  pierce  it  runs  a  frieze  of  ancient  relievos,  the  work 
of  some  obscure  mediaeval  artist.  Gabriel  recognised 
these  coarse  sculptures  as  being  contemporaneous  with 
the  Puerta  del  Reloj,  and  by  far  the  most  ancient  work 
in  the  Cathedral. 

"  Look  you,  in  the  first  medallion  Adam  and  Eve 
are  as  naked  as  worms  ;  but  the  Lord  drives  them  out 
of  Paradise,  and  they  are  obliged  to  dress  themselves  to 
appear  in  the  world  ;  and   see  what  they   do   directly 

'  An  ancient  instrument  with  three  strings,  played  with  a  bow. 


128  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

they  get  their  clothes.  But  look  at  the  fifth  medallion 
on  our  right  hand  ;  the  old  gossip  who  cut  that  had  a 
lively  turn  of  mind." 

Gabriel  looked  for  the  first  time  attentively  at  these 
forgotten  sculptures.  They  were  carved  with  all  the 
naturalistic  simplicity  of  the  Middle  Ages,  with  all  the 
directness  with  which  the  artists  represented  their  pro- 
fane conceptions,  with  the  desire  to  perpetuate  the 
triumph  of  the  flesh  in  some  ignored  corner  of  the 
mystical  buildings,  in  order  to  testify  that  human  life 
was  not  dead. 

The  Tato  was  delighted  at  the  surprise  on  his  uncle's 
face. 

"Eh!  what  do  you  think  of  that?  I  discovered  it 
wandering  about  the  church.  The  canons  sing  every 
day  on  the  other  side  of  this  wall  without  ever  suspect- 
ing what  gay  doings  they  have  over  their  heads.  And 
the  stained  glass,  uncle,  look  at  it  well.  At  first  so 
many  colours  blind  one  and  the  forms  are  indistinct; 
besides,  the  lead  cuts  the  figures  and  it  is  difficult  to 
make  out  anything,  but  I  know  them  to  my  fingers' 
ends.  They  are  stories,  things  of  their  own  times,  that 
these  glass-workers  painted ;  the  intrigues  have  been 
forgotten,  and  no  one  has  disentangled  them." 

He  pointed  to  the  windows  of  the  second  nave, 
through  which  the  evening  light  was  shining  with  a 
ruddy  glow. 

"  Look  up  there,"  went  on  the  Perrero.  "  A  gallant 
in  a  red  cape  and  sword  mounts  by  a  rope  ladder ;  at 
the  window  a  nun  is  waiting  for  him.  It  seems  some- 
thing like  the  Don  Juan  Tenorio  that  they  represent  at 
All  Saints'.  Further  on,  you  see  those  two  in  bed,  and 
people  knocking  at  the  door.  They  must  be  the  same 
pair  of  birds  with  the  family  surprising  them.  Then  in 
the  next  window — look  well  at  it — lovers,  with  scarcely 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  129 

any  clothes  beyond  bare  skin.  These  things  belong  to 
the  days  when  people  had  no  shame,  when  they  went 
with  their  heads  covered  and  the  rest  of  their  flesh 
bare." 

Gabriel  smiled  at  the  whimsical  ideas  with  which 
ancient  art  inspired  the  Perrero, 

"  But  in  the  choir,  uncle,  there  is  also  something  to 
see.  Let  us  go  there  ;  the  service  is  over  and  the  canons 
are  coming  out." 

Luna  felt  overpowered  by  admiration  as  he  always 
did  on  entering  the  choir.  Those  magnificent  stalls,  the 
work  on  one  side  of  Philip  of  Burgundy,  and  on  the 
other  side  of  Berruguete,  bewildered  him  with  their 
profusion  of  marbles,  jaspers,  gildings,  statues  and 
medallions.  It  was  the  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  reviving 
in  the  Toledan  Cathedral. 

The  Perrero  examined  the  lower  stalls,  ferreting  out 
among  the  Gothic  relievos  the  discoveries  enjoyed  by 
his  unwholesome  curiosity.  This  first  row  of  stalls, 
almost  on  a  level  with  the  ground,  were  occupied  by 
the  inferior  clergy,  and  were  anterior  by  half  a  century 
to  the  upper  stalls ;  but  in  those  fifty  years  art  had  made 
a  great  stride,  from  the  hard  and  rigid  Gothic  to  the 
flowing  lines  and  good  taste  of  the  Renaissance.  They 
had  been  carved  by  Maestre  Rodrigo  at  the  time  when 
Christian  Spain,  roused  to  enthusiasm,  was  helping  the 
Catholic  kings  with  all  its  strength  to  complete  the 
reconquest.  On  the  backs  of  the  stalls,  and  on  the 
entablature  of  the  frieze  fifty-four  carved  pictures 
represented  the  principal  incidents  of  the  conquest  of 
Granada. 

The  Tato  did  not  look  at  these  carvings  of  walnut  or 
oak,  with  troops  of  horsemen  and  companies  of  soldiers 
scaling  the  walls  of  Moorish  towns.  What  interested 
him  most  were  the  arms  of  the  stalls,  the  handrails  of 

C.  K 


130  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  steps  leading  to  the  upper  seats,  and  the  salients 
dividing  the  stalls  which  served  to  rest  the  head,  all 
covered  with  animals,  grotesque  beings,  dogs,  monkeys, 
big  birds,  friars,  and  little  birds,  all  in  difficult  postures, 
some  beautiful  some  obscene.  Hogs  and  frogs  wound 
themselves  up  together  in  inextricable  tangles,  monkeys 
with  ignoble  gestures  were  mixed  up  with  interlaced 
birds  in  never  ending  variety — it  was  a  world  of  carica- 
tures of  voluptuousness,  of  monkey-like  actions  and 
satirical  suggestions,  in  which  appeared  carnal  passion 
with  the  most  grotesque  animal  grimaces. 

"  Look  here,  uncle.  Is  not  this  capital — it  is  far  the 
best." 

And  the  Tato  showed  Gabriel  the  little  chubby  figure 
of  a  preaching  friar  with  enormous  donkey's  ears. 

When  they  came  out  of  the  choir  Gabriel  spied  the 
Chapel-master  close  to  the  fresco  of  Saint  Christopher. 
He  had  just  emerged  from  a  little  door  close  to  the  giant, 
which  led  by  a  circular  staircase  to  the  musical  archives. 
He  was  carrying  under  his  arm  a  big  book  with  dusty 
pages  which  he  showed  to  Gabriel. 

"  I  am  taking  it  upstairs.  You  shall  hear  something 
out  of  it ;  it  is  worth  the  trouble." 

And  turning  his  eyes  from  the  book  to  the  little  door 
close  by  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Ay !  these  archives,  Gabriel,  how  it  pains  one ! 
Each  time  I  visit  them  I  come  out  sadder.  The  vandals 
have  been  at  work  there  ;  nearly  all  the  music  books 
have  pages  torn  out,  pieces  cut  out  wherever  there  was 
an  illuminated  letter,  a  vignette  or  anything  pretty.  The 
senor  canons  do  not  care  for  music,  neither  do  they 
understand  it,  and  they  are  incapable  of  devoting  a  few 
pesetas  so  that  it  might  be  heard  on  festival  days.  It 
is  quite  enough  for  them  to  walk  in  procession  to  some 
piece  of  Rossini's ;  and  as  far  as  regards  the  organ,  all 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  131 

they  care  about  is  that  it  must  play  slowly,  very  slowly. 
The  slower  it  plays,  the  more  religious  they  think  it, 
even  though  the  organist  may  be  playing  a  Habanera." 

He  continued  looking  at  the  little  door  with 
melancholy  eyes  as  though  he  were  ready  to  weep  over 
the  decay  of  music. 

"  In  there,  Gabriel,  are  many  beautiful  works,  that 
ought  not  to  be  forgotten  as  long  as  art  lives  in  the 
world.  In  profane  music  we  have  not  been  great,  but 
believe  me  that  Spain  has  been  far  otherwise  with 
religious  authors.  That  is,  provided  that  profane  music 
and  religious  music  really  exist,  which  I  doubt ;  for  me 
there  is  only — music — and  I  think  he  will  be  a  clever 
man  who  draws  the  line  where  one  ends  and  where  the 
other  begins.  Behind  this  wall  of  Saint  Christopher's, 
the  works  of  all  the  great  Spanish  musicians  sleep, 
mutilated  and  covered  with  dust.  Perhaps  it  is  better 
they  do  sleep,  when  you  hear  what  is  sung  in  this  choir! 
Here  you  will  find  Christobal  Morales,  who  three 
hundred  years  ago  was  Chapel-master  here,  and  began 
the  reform  of  music  twenty  years  before  Palestrina. 
In  Rome  he  shares  the  glory  with  the  famous  master; 
his  portrait  is  in  the  Vatican,  and  his  lamentations,  his 
motets,  and  his  Magnificat  rest  here,  forgotten  for 
centuries.  And  Victoria  ?  Do  you  know  him  ? 
Another  of  the  same  period ;  his  jealous  contem- 
poraries called  him  '  Palestrina's  monkey '  taking  all 
his  works  to  be  imitations,  in  consequence  of  his  long 
sojourn  in  Rome  ;  but,  believe  me,  instead  of  being 
plagiarisms  from  the  Italian,  they  are  far  superior. 
Here  also  is  Rivera,  a  Toledan  master  who  no  one 
remembers,  but  in  the  archives  there  is  a  whole  volume 
of  his  masses,  and  Romero  de  Avila,  who  more  than 
anyone  had  studied  the  Muzarabe  chants,  and  Ramos 
de  Pareja,  not  the  least  musician  of  the  fifteenth  century, 

K  2 


132  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

who  wrote  in  Bologna  his  book  *  De  Musica  Tractatus,' 
and  destroyed  the  ancient  system  of  Guido  de  Arezzo, 
discovering  the  tonahty  of  sound  ;  and  the  Monk  Urena, 
who  added  the  note  *si'  to  the  scale,  and  Javier  Garcia, 
who  in  the  last  century  reformed  music,  leading  it 
towards  Italy  (God  forgive  him  !),  a  beaten  track  from 
which  we  have  not  yet  emerged  ;  and  Nebra,  the  great 
organist  of  Carlos  HI.,  who,  a  century  before  Wagner 
was  born,  used  musical  discords.  When  he  wrote  the 
Requiem  for  the  funeral  of  Doiia  Barbara  di  Braganza, 
foreseeing  the  surprise  and  difficulties  that  the  musicians 
and  singers  would  meet  with  in  the  innovations  in  his 
score,  he  wrote  on  the  margin,  *  This  is  to  give  notice 
that  there  are  no  mistakes  in  the  score.'  His  Litany 
became  so  celebrated  that  it  was  forbidden  to  copy  it, 
under  pain  of  excommunication  ;  but  I  think  to-day  the 
persons  who  remember  it  would  be  the  excommunicated. 
Believe  me,  Gabriel,  these  archives  are  a  pantheon  of 
great  men,  but  a  pantheon,  unluckily,  from  which  no 
one  emerges." 

Then  he  added,  lowering  his  voice : 

"  The  Church  has  never  been  a  great  lover  of  music. 
To  feel  and  understand  it  you  must  be  born  a  musician, 
and  you  know  well  enough  that  these  gentlemen  who 
are  paid  to  sing  in  the  choir  know  nothing  about  music. 
When  I  see  you,  Gabriel,  smiling  at  religious  things,  I 
guess  by  your  manner  how  much  you  conceal,  and  I  am 
sure  you  are  right.  I  was  interested  to  know  the  history 
of  music  in  the  Church.  I  have  followed  step  by  step 
the  long  Calvary  of  this  unhappy  art,  carrying  the  cross 
of  worship  uphill  through  the  long  centuries.  You 
have  heard  people  often  talk  of  religious  music,  as  if  it 
were  a  thing  apart,  believed  in  by  the  Church  ;  but  it  is 
all  a  lie,  for  religious  music  does  not  exist." 

The  Perrero  had  moved  off  when  he  heard  that  the 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  133 

Chapel-master,  whose  loquacity  was  indefatigable  when 
he  spoke  of  his  art,  had  started  on  the  theme  of  music. 
He  had  formed  his  own  opinion  of  Don  Luis  and  told  it 
to  everyone  in  the  upper  cloister.  He  was  a  simpleton 
who  only  knew  how  to  play  melancholy  ditties  on  his 
harmonium,  without  ever  thinking  of  enlivening  the 
poor  people  in  the  Claverias  by  playing  something  to 
which  they  could  dance,  as  the  niece  of  Silver  Stick  had 
asked  him. 

The  priest  and  Gabriel  walked  slowly  through  the 
silent  naves  talking  the  while ;  the  only  people  to  be 
seen  were  a  group  of  the  household  at  the  door  of  the 
sacristy,  and  two  women  kneeling  before  the  railing  of 
the  high  altar  praying  aloud.  The  early  twilight  of  the 
winter  evenings  was  beginning  to  darken  the  Cathedral, 
and  the  first  bats  were  coming  down  from  the  vaulting 
and  fluttering  through  the  columns. 

"  Ecclesiastical  music,"  said  the  artist,  "  is  a  real 
anarchy ;  but  in  the  Church  everything  is  anarchy.  I 
believe  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  for  the  unity  of 
the  Catholic  worship  throughout  the  world.  When 
Christianity  began  to  form  itself  into  a  religion  it  did  not 
invent  even  a  single  bad  melody ;  it  borrowed  its  hymns 
and  the  manner  of  singing  them  from  the  Jews,  a 
primitive  and  barbarous  music  that  would  shock  our 
ears  if  we  heard  it  now.  Out  of  Palestine,  and  where 
there  were  no  Jews,  the  earliest  Christian  poets — 
Saint  Ambrose,  Prudencio  and  others — adapted  their 
new  hymns  and  psalms  to  the  popular  songs  that  were 
then  in  vogue  in  the  Roman  world,  or  possibly  to  Greek 
music.  It  seems  as  though  that  word  '  Greek  music ' 
ought  to  mean  a  great  deal ;  is  it  not  so,  Gabriel  ?  The 
Greeks  were  so  great  in  their  poetry  and  in  the  plastic 
arts  that  anything  that  bears  their  name  would  seem  to 
be  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  undying  beauty. 


134  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

But  it  is  not  so  :  the  march  of  the  arts  has  not  been 
parallel  in  human  life  ;  when  sculpture  had  its  Phidias, 
and  had  reached  its  climax,  painting  had  hardly  passed 
that  rudimentary  stage  that  we  see  in  Pompeii,  and  music 
was  only  a  childish  babbling.  Writing  could  not  per- 
petuate music,  for  there  seemed  as  many  musical  styles 
as  there  were  peoples,  and  everything  was  left  to  the 
judgment  of  the  executant.  You  could  not  fix  on 
parchment  what  mouths  and  instruments  played,  and 
so  progress  was  impossible.  For  this  reason,  though 
there  was  a  Renaissance  for  sculpture,  for  painting,  for 
architecture,  at  the  revival  of  the  arts  after  the  Middle 
Ages,  music  was  found  in  the  same  elementary  stage  in 
which  it  was  at  the  break-up  of  the  ancient  world." 

Gabriel  nodded  his  head  assenting  to  the  words  of  the 
the  Chapel-master. 

"  This  was  the  first  Christian  music,"  continued  Don 
Luis.  "  Confided  to  tradition  and  transmitted  orally, 
the  religious  songs  soon  became  disfigured  and  corrupt. 
In  every  church  they  sang  in  a  different  way,  and 
religious  music  became  a  hotch-potch.  The  mystics 
leaned  to  rigid  unity,  and  in  the  sixth  century  Saint 
Gregory  published  his  *  Antifonario,'  a  collection  of  all 
liturgic  melodies,  purifying  them  according  to  his  ideas. 
They  were  a  mixture  of  two  elements :  the  Greek, 
rather  oriental  and  florid,  very  much  like  the  present 
debased  style ;  and  the  grave  and  rough  Roman.  The 
notes  were  expressed  by  letters,  the  Phrygian  and 
Lydian  styles  followed,  and  so  the  intricacies  of  Greek 
music  continued  though  much  altered,  with  fioriture, 
rests,  and  breathing  pauses.  The  collection  became 
lost,  and  many  who  think  a  return  to  the  old  style 
would  be  best,  much  regret  it.  To  judge  by  the  frag- 
ments that  remain,  if  such  music  was  now  executed  it 
would  have  very  little  that  was  religious  about  it,  as  we 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  135 

understand   religion    in    art    to-day ;    it   would    more 
resemble  the  songs  of  the  Moors,  or  the  Chinese,  or 
those   of  some   schismatic    Greeks   who  still    use  the 
ancient  liturgies.     The  harp  was  the  principal  instru- 
ment in  the  churches  till  the  organ  appeared  in  the 
tenth  century,  a  rough  and  barbarous  instrument  that 
had  to  be  played  with  blows,  and  was  supplied  with 
wind  from  inflated  skins.     Guido    di    Arezzo  made  a 
musical  rule  on  the  basis  of  Gregory's  collection,  and 
this  was  sufficient  for  the  invention  of  the  pentagramma^ 
to  be  assigned  to  the  Benedictine.     They  continued  to 
use  the  letters  of  Boccio  and  Saint  Gregory  as  notes, 
but  they  placed  them  on  lines  of  three  different  colours. 
The  imbroglio  continued ;  to   learn  music  badly  took 
twelve  years,  and  then    they    could  not  manage  that 
singers  from  different  towns  could  read  from  the  same 
score.     Saint  Bernard,  dry  and  austere  as  his  times, 
ridiculed  this  music  as  not  being  solemn  enough  ;  he  was 
a  man  antagonistic  to  all  art ;  he  would  have  liked  to 
see  the  churches  dismantled  and  without  any  architec- 
tural adornments;  and  the  slower  the  music  was,  the 
better  it  seemed  to  him.     He  was  the  father  of  plain 
song,  and  he  maintained  that  the  more  drawn  out  the 
music  was,  the  more  religious  it  became.     But  in  the 
thirteenth   century   Christians  found    this  chant  most 
wearisome.     The  cathedrals    in    those    days   were  the 
point  of  attraction :  the  theatre,  the  centre  of  all  life. 
People  went  to  the  church  to  pray  to  God  and  to  amuse 
themselves,  forgetting  for  the  moment  all  the  wars  and 
the  violence  and  confusion  outside.    Once  again  popular 
music  came  into  the  churches,    and  you    could  hear 
intoned  in  the  cathedrals  all  the  songs  most  in  vogue, 
and  which  were  often  obscene.    The  people  took  part  in 

*  The  stave. 


136  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  religious  music,  singing  in  different  tones,  each  one 
as  seemed  best  to  him,  and  these  were  the  first  begin- 
nings of  concerted  singing.  In  those  days  reHgion  was 
joyful,  popular — democratic  as  you  would  say,  Gabriel ; 
there  was  no  Inquisition,  nor  suspicion  of  heresy  to 
embitter  the  soul  with  fanaticism  and  fear.  All  the 
coarse  wind  and  stringed  instruments  that  the  artisans 
had  in  the  towns,  or  the  labourers  in  the  fields,  came 
into  the  churches,  and  the  organ  was  accompanied  by 
violas,  violins,  bagpipes,  flutes,  guitars  and  lutes. 
The  plain  song  was  the  established  liturgy  almost 
throughout  Europe ;  but  the  people  disliked  it, 
and  interspersed  it  with  songs,  and  at  the  great 
festivals,  religious  hymns  were  sung,  adapted  to  the 
popular  melodies  then  in  fashion,  such  as  '  The  song  of 
the  armed  man,'  '  Morencia,  give  me  a  kiss,'  '  I  know 
not  what  confuses  me,'  '  Weep  for  me,  lady,'  *  Bad  luck 
to  him  who  married  you,'  and  others  in  the  same  style. 
And  Rome,  you  will  ask,  and  the  Church  ?  What  did 
it  say  about  such  disorders  ?  The  Church  lived  without 
artistic  perception :  it  never  had  any.  What  are  the 
boundaries  between  religious  and  profane  music  ?  From 
the  sixteenth  to  the  seventeenth  century  all  critics 
have  asked  themselves  this  question,  but  the  Church  let 
them  talk,  accepting  everything  without  remark.  Now 
and  again  Rome  made  itself  heard  by  a  Papal  bull,  to 
which  no  one  paid  any  attention,  because  the  Pontiff 
was  incapable  of  saying  this  is  religious  art,  and  the 
other  is  profane.  Palestrina  was  entrusted  with  the 
task  of  reforming  church  music ;  the  Pope  showed 
himself  disposed  not  to  leave  anything  but  plain  song, 
and  to  suppress  even  that  if  necessary.  The  mass  of 
Papa  Marcelo  and  other  melodies  was  the  result  of  this, 
but  things  did  not  advance  much.  It  was  necessary  in 
order  that  music  should  be  purified  inside  the  Church 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  137 

that  the  great  secular  musical  movement  should  begin 
with  the  Italian  Monteverde,  with  the  Frenchman 
Rameau,  and  with  the  Germans  Sebastian  Bach  and 
Handel ;  what  splendid  times,  Gabriel !  And  just  think 
what  genius  followed  :  Gluck,  Haydn,  Mozart,  Mehiil, 
Boieldieu,  and,  above  all,  our  good  friend  Beethoven." 

The  Chapel-master  was  silent  for  a  little  as  though 
the  name  of  his  idol  imposed  on  him  a  religious  silence. 
Presently  he  continued. 

"  All  this  avalanche  of  art  passed  over  the  Church, 
and  she,  according  to  her  habit,  appropriated  everything 
that  was  most  to  her  taste ;  in  any  country  the  Catholic 
religion  adopted  the  music  most  in  accordance  with 
its  traditions — in  Spain  we  have  been  saturated  with 
the  Italian  style  since  the  days  of  Palestrina,  and 
German  or  French  music  never  came  to  us.  We  were 
first  of  all  fuguists  and  contrapuntists ;  but  after  the 
*  Stabat  Mater '  of  Rossini  we  felt  the  attraction  of 
theatrical  melody  so  strongly  that  we  have  never 
wished  to  taste  a  fresh  dish.  Religious  music  in  Spain 
has  run  parallel  with  Italian  opera,  a  thing  of  which 
the  canons  are  ignorant ;  they  would  be  furious  if  at  the 
mass  you  played  them  anything  by  Beethoven,  which 
they  would  consider  profane,  but  they  listen  with 
mystic  unction  to  fragments  which  have  gone  the 
round  of  all  the  theatres  in  Italy.  And  about  the  plain 
song,  you  will  ask  ?  The  plain  song  had  its  nest  in  this 
Primacy.  It  was  preserved  here  for  centuries  and 
purified  ;  all  the  best  was  collected  in  Toledo,  and  from 
the  books  in  this  Cathedral  have  gone  forth  the  chorales 
of  all  the  churches  in  Spain  and  America.  Poor  plain 
song  !  it  has  long  been  dead.  You  see  for  yourself, 
Gabriel,  who  comes  to  the  Cathedral  at  the  hour  of  the 
choir  ?  No  one,  absolutely  no  one.  The  matins  are 
recited,  and  all  the  offices  are  intoned   in  the  midst 


138  THE   SHADOW  OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

of  perfect  solitude.  The  people  who  still  believe  know 
nothing  of  the  liturgy  ;  they  do  not  prize  it  and  have 
forgotten  all  about  it ;  they  are  only  attracted  by  the 
novenas,  the  triduos  and  retreats,  all  that  is  termed 
tolerated  and  extra-liturgic  worship.  The  Jesuits,  with 
their  cunning,  guessed  that  they  must  give  their 
services  a  theatrical  attraction,  and  for  this  reason  their 
churches — gilt,  carpeted,  and  decked  with  flowers  like 
dressing-rooms  —  are  always  full,  whereas  the  old 
cathedrals  are  as  empty  as  tombs.  They  have  not 
proclaimed  the  necessity  for  this  reform  aloud,  but 
they  have  put  it  into  practice  by  abolishing  the  singing 
in  Latin,  and  substituting  all  sorts  of  romances  and 
songs.  In  the  churches,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Tantum-ergo,  nothing  is  sung  in  Latin,  sermons  and 
hymns  are  in  the  language  of  the  country,  just  as  in 
a  Protestant  church.  For  the  mass  of  devout  people, 
who  believe  without  thinking,  religions  only  differ  in 
their  exterior  forms.  It  would  be  impossible  to  consign 
such  a  multitude  to  the  bonfires,  or  that  half  Europe 
should  again  be  in  the  clutches  of  the  thirty  years' 
war,  or  that  the  Popes  should  launch  excommunication 
after  excommunication,  only  to  find  in  the  end  that 
the  only  difference  between  a  Catholic  or  an  evan- 
gelical church  is  a  few  images  and  a  few  wax  tapers, 
but  that  the  worship  in  both  is  the  same.  But  we  must 
go,  Gabriel ;  they  are  going  to  lock  up." 

The  bell-ringer  was  hurrjdng  through  the  naves, 
shaking  his  bunch  of  keys  and  startling  the  bats  which 
were  becoming  more  and  more  numerous.  The  two 
devout  women  had  disappeared  ;  no  one  remained  in 
the  Cathedral  save  Gabriel  and  the  Chapel-master. 
From  the  farther  end  of  the  nave  were  coming  the 
night  watchmen,  to  take  up  their  charge  till  the 
following  morning,  preceded  by  the  dog. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  139 

The  two  friends  went  out  into  the  cloister,  guided 
through  the  dusk  by  the  rich  glow  from  the  stained 
glass  windows ;  outside,  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  were 
touching  both  the  garden  and  the  cloister  of  the 
Claverias  with  crimson. 

**  I  repeat,"  continued  the  musical  priest,  looking 
back  at  the  door  from  which  they  had  come  out,  "  that 
in  there  they  do  not  love  music  and  they  do  not  under- 
stand it.  The  Church  has  only  rendered  one  service 
to  music,  and  that  without  wishing  it  :  they  have  been 
obliged  to  have  instrumentalists  and  vocalists  for  the 
services,  and  that  made  them  support  the  chapels  and 
choir-schools  that  have  served  for  musical  education 
in  default  of  schools.  We  who  represent  art  in  the 
cathedrals  are  as  much  despised  as  were  the  minstrels 
in  the  old  chapels,  players  of  the  clarion  and  bassoon. 
For  the  canons,  all  that  sleeps  in  the  musical  archives 
is  so  much  Greek,  and  we,  the  artistic  priests,  form 
a  race  apart,  and  are  only  just  a  step  above  the 
sacristans.  The  Chapel-master,  the  organist,  the  tenor, 
contralto,  and  the  bass  form  the  chapel.  We  are 
clergy  like  the  canons,  we  become  beneficiaries  by 
appointment,  we  have  studied  religious  science  as  they 
have,  and,  moreover,  we  are  musicians;  but  in  spite 
of  this  we  receive  less  than  half  the  salary  of  a  canon, 
and  to  remind  us  constantly  of  our  inferior  position 
we  have  to  sit  in  the  lower  stalls.  We,  the  only  ones 
in  the  choir  who  know  anything  about  music,  have 
to  occupy  the  lowest  places.  The  precentor  is  by  right 
the  chief  of  the  singers,  and  the  precentor  is  a  canon 
named  by  Rome  without  competition,  probably  not 
knowing  a  note  of  the  pentagramma.  Oh  !  the  anarchy, 
friend  Gabriel !  Oh !  the  contempt  of  the  Church 
for  music  which  has  always  been  its  slave  and  never 
its  daughter !     In  many  convents  of  nuns  the  organist 


140  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

and  the  singers  are  despised  and  called  sergeants. 
There  seems  money  for  everything  in  the  Church  : 
the  revenues  of  the  building  are  ample  for  everything 
except  for  music.  The  canons  look  upon  us  as  fools 
masking  in  ecclesiastical  robes.  When  the  feast  of 
Corpus  or  that  of  the  Virgin  of  the  Sagrario  comes 
round,  and  I  dream  of  a  fine  mass  worthy  of  the 
Cathedral,  the  Canon  Obrero  attacks  me  and  begs 
for  something  Italian  and  simple,  an  affair  of  half-a- 
dozen  musicians  that  I  must  pick  up  in  the  town,  and 
then  I  have  to  conduct  a  few  bungling  musicians, 
raging  to  hear  how  the  miserable  orchestra  sounds 
under  these  vaults,  which  were  built  for  something 
grander.  In  the  end,  friend  Luna,  it  is  dead,  quite 
dead." 

The  complaint  of  the  Chapel-master  did  not  surprise 
Gabriel.  Everyone  in  the  Cathedral  complained  of  the 
miserable  and  sordid  way  in  which  the  services  were 
conducted.  Some,  like  the  Silver  Stick,  declared  that 
it  was  due  to  the  impiety  of  the  age,  others,  like  the 
musician,  made  that  same  religion  responsible,  but  they 
did  not  dare  to  say  so  aloud.  Respect  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  higher  powers,  instilled  since  their  child- 
hood, kept  the  population  of  the  Cathedral  silent.  The 
greater  part  of  the  servitors  of  the  Church  were  living 
morally  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  an  atmosphere  of 
servility  and  superstitious  fear  of  their  superiors,  feeling 
the  injustice  of  their  position,  but  without  daring  to 
give  form,  even  in  their  thoughts,  to  their  vague  notions 
of  protest. 

Only  at  night,  in  the  silence  of  the  upper  cloister,  in 
the  privacy  of  those  families  who  were  born  and  died 
among  the  stones  of  the  Cathedral,  did  they  dare  to 
repeat  the  murmurs  of  the  Church,  the  interminable 
tangle   of    tattle   which    grew    over   the    monotonous 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  141 

ecclesiastical  existence,  the  complaints  of  the  canons 
against  His  Eminence,  and  what  the  cardinal  said  about 
the  Chapter,  an  underground  war  which  was  reproduced 
at  every  archiepiscopal  elevation,  intrigues  and  heart- 
burnings of  celibates,  embittered  by  ambition  and 
favouritism,  primitive  hatreds  that  reminded  one  of  the 
time  when  the  clergy  elected  their  own  prelates  and 
ruled  over  them,  instead  of  groaning  as  now  under  the 
iron  rule  of  the  archbishop's  will. 

Everyone  in  the  cloister  knew  of  these  quarrels,  and 
the  remarks  that  the  canons  allowed  themselves  to 
make  in  the  sacristy  reached  their  ears ;  but  these 
humble  servitors  kept  silence  when  these  murmurs  were 
repeated  in  their  presence,  fearing  to  be  reported  by 
their  neighbour,  who  possibly  might  covet  their  post. 
It  was  the  terror  of  the  Inquisition  still  alive  amidst 
this  little  stagnant  world. 

The  Perrero  was  the  only  one  who  seemed  to  have  no 
fear,  and  who  spoke  openly  about  the  Chapter  and  the 
cardinal.  What  did  it  matter  to  him  !  Possibly  he  may 
have  wished  to  be  turned  out  of  "  that  den  "  to  give 
himself  up  to  his  favourite  pursuit,  going  to  the  bull- 
ring without  any  objections  from  the  household. 
Moreover,  he  delighted  in  speaking  evil  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Chapter,  who  had  given  him  more  than  one  cuff 
when  he  was  an  acolyte. 

He  gave  nicknames  to  all  the  canons,  and  pointing 
them  out  one  by  one  to  Gabriel,  related  the  most 
intimate  secrets  of  their  lives.  He  knew  the  houses 
where  each  prebendary  passed  the  evening  after  the 
choir  time,  and  the  names  of  all  the  ladies  and  nuns  who 
crimped  their  surplices,  and  could  tell  of  the  fierce  and 
deadly  rivalries  between  these  admirers  of  the  Chapter, 
endeavouring  to  vanquish  each  other  by  the  exquisite  way 
in  which  they  washed  and  ironed  the  canonical  batiste. 


142  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

As  the  choir  were  coming  out  he  pointed  out  the  pre- 
centor, an  obese  prebendary  with  his  face  covered  with 
red  spots. 

"  Look  at  him,  uncle,"  he  said  to  Gabriel,  "  that  rash 
on  his  face  is  a  record  of  the  past.  He  was  a  great 
gallant,  never  fixing  himself  long  anywhere.  The  other 
evening  he  said  to  a  chaplain  of  the  chapel  of  the 
kings,  *  Those  captain  professors  at  the  Academy  think 
that  in  point  of  women  they  cull  the  best  in  Toledo, 
but  where  is  the  Church !  The  seculars  must  lower 
their  flag  ! '  " 

He  laughed  as  he  pointed  out  a  group  of  young 
priests,  carefully  shaved,  with  their  cheeks  blue  and 
shining,  dressed  in  silk  mantles  that  diffused  a  strong 
scent  of  musk  as  they  moved.  These  were  the  dandies 
of  the  Chapter,  the  young  canons,  who  often  made 
journeys  to  Madrid  to  confess  their  patronesses — 
ancient  marchionesses  who,  by  dint  of  influence,  had 
gained  for  them  a  seat  in  the  choir.  At  the  Puerta 
del  MoUete  they  stopped  a  few  moments  to  arrange 
the  folds  of  their  cloaks  before  they  went  into  the 
street. 

"  They  are  going  out  to  court  the  ladies,"  said  the 
Tato.     "  Brrrum  !  make  way  for  Don  Juan  Tenorio  ! " 

When  they  had  watched  all  the  canons  come  out,  the 
Perrero  spoke  to  his  uncle  about  the  cardinal. 

"  In  these  days  he  is  given  over  to  the  fiends.  No  one 
in  the  palace  can  manage  him ;  his  internal  complaint 
nearly  drives  him  mad." 

"  But  is  it  true  he  is  so  very  ill  ?  "  asked  Gabriel. 

"  Everyone  says  so  ;  ask  your  Aunt  Tomasa.  They  say 
they  are  such  great  friends  because  she  makes  a  lotion 
that  calms  him  like  an  angel's  hand.  In  the  morning 
when  he  wakes  in  a  bad  temper  all  the  palace  trembles, 
and  very  soon  all  the  diocese.     He  is  a  good  man,  but 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  143 

when  the  mad  dog  bites  him  everyone  must  fly.  I 
have  seen  him  on  pontifical  days  wearing  his  mitre, 
looking  at  us  with  such  eyes,  as  though  he  were  ready 
to  seize  his  crozier  and  belabour  us  all  with  it,  from  what 
the  aunt  says — if  he  did  not  drink  !  " 

**  Then  the  complaints  of  the  Chapter  are  true." 

"  He  does  not  get  drunk.  No,  senor,  give  the  devil  his 
due,  but  a  glass  now,  and  another  presently,  and  a  third 
if  a  friend  comes  to  see  him,  must  obfuscate  him.  It 
is  a  habit  he  brought  with  him  from  Andalusia,  where 
he  was  bishop  before  coming  here.  But  nothing  com- 
mon, a  fine  and  refreshing  drink,  only  to  keep  up  his 
strength,  nothing  more.  And  the  wine  is  first  class, 
uncle  ;  I  know  it  from  one  of  his  household.  He  gives 
as  much  as  fifty  duros  the  arroba  !  ^  They  keep  him  the 
best  in  all  la  Mancha,  a  vintage  from  the  time  of  the 
French,  a  syrup  that  warms  the  stomach  and  tempers  it 
as  though  it  were  an  organ.  From  what  the  Aunt 
Tomasa  says,  the  doctors  patch  him  up,  and  then  he 
does  his  best  to  get  ill  again  with  this  glorious  wine." 

The  Tato,  in  the  midst  of  his  cynical  mockery,  still 
showed  a  regard  for  the  prelate. 

"  Do  not  believe,  uncle,  that  he  is  a  nonentity.  Apart 
from  his  bad  temper  he  is  really  a  strong  man,  even  as 
you  see  him  here,  with  his  small  white  and  shining  head 
like  a  baby's,  that  seems  even  smaller  above  his  immense 
corporation  ;  but  it  carries  something  in  it !  He  has 
spoken  a  great  deal  in  Madrid,  and  all  the  newspapers 
took  as  much  notice  of  him  as  though  he  were  Guerra. 
His  wisdom  finds  a  remedy  for  .everything.  If  they 
speak  of  the  poverty  and  misery  in  the  world,  he  sings 
the  old  song  :  bread  for  the  poor,  charity  from  the  rich, 
and  much  Christian  doctrine  for  everyone ;  that  men 

*  Arroba — Measure  containing  thirty-two  pints. 


144  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

ought  not  to  quarrel  because  I  have  more  than  you,  and 
there  ought  to  be  patience  and  decency  in  the  world, 
for  that  is  what  is  wanting.  What  nonsense,  eh,  uncle  ? 
You  laugh  at  it  ?  But  His  Eminence's  recipe  rather 
pleases  me,  especially  that  about  the  bread ;  but  the 
cursed  Catechism  is  in  fault  as  we  have  all  learnt  from 
our  childhood." 

The  Perrero  grew  quite  excited  speaking  about  his 
prince : 

"  And  as  a  man  ?  A  masterful  man  ;  no  hypocrisy 
about  him,  nor  hiding  his  head.  Everyone  knows  he 
was  a  soldier  in  his  younger  days.  The  Aunt  Tomasa 
remembers  seeing  him  in  the  cloister  with  his  helmet 
with  horse-hair  crest,  his  sergeant's  epaulets,  and  his 
rattling  broad  sword.  He  is  not  afraid  of  anything,  is 
not  easily  scandalised,  and  does  not  make  a  fuss  about 
things.  Last  year  a  Portuguese  lady  arrived  here,  who 
nearly  drove  all  the  cadets  out  of  their  senses  with  her 
silk  stockings  and  her  big  hats.  You  know  Juanito, 
and  you  are  aware  that  he  is  the  son  of  a  nephew  of  His 
Eminence  who  died  some  years  ago.  Well,  the  young- 
ster paraded  up  and  down  the  Zocodover  in  his  uniform 
with  the  Portuguese  lady  on  his  arm  to  arouse  the 
jealousy  of  his  companions  in  the  Academy.  One  day 
the  young  woman  presented  herself  at  the  palace,  and 
the  servants,  seeing  her  so  beautifully  dressed,  made  no 
difficulty  about  letting  her  in,  thinking  she  was  some 
lady  from  Madrid.  His  Eminence  received  her  with  a 
paternal  smile,  and  listened  to  her  without  winking.  A 
friend  of  mine,  one  of  the  pages  who  was  present,  told 
me  about  it.  She  came  to  complain  to  the  cardinal 
that  his  nephew,  the  cadet,  had  entertained  her  for  two 
days  without  giving  her  a  farthing.  His  Eminence 
smiled  modestly  :  '  Lady,  the  Church  is  poor,  but  I  do 
not  wish  that  for  this  misfortune  the  good  name  of  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  145 

family  should  suffer.  Take  this  and  it  will  be  remedied,' 
and  he  handed  her  two  duros.  The  Portuguese,  en- 
couraged by  her  good  reception,  began  to  bawl  and 
complain,  thinking  she  would  terrify  Don  Sebastian  by 
making  a  scandal.  But  you  should  have  seen  the  fury 
of  His  Eminence  as  he  shouted  to  the  page,  '  Boy,  call 
the  police ' ;  and  the  look  on  his  face  was  such  that 
the  Portuguese  lady  vanished  as  quickly  as  she  could, 
leaving  the  two  pieces  of  silver  on  the  table." 

Gabriel  laughed,  listening  to  the  story. 

'*  He  is  a  strong  man,  believe  me,  uncle.  I  like  him 
because  he  holds  the  Chapter  in  his  fist.  He  is  not  like 
his  predecessor,  who  was  like  a  sop  in  milk,  who  only 
knew  how  to  pray,  and  trembled  before  the  last-made 
canon.  He  is  quite  capable  of  going  down  into  the 
choir  one  evening  and  turning  them  all  out  with  blows 
from  his  crosier.  It  is  more  than  two  months  since  he 
has  been  down  into  the  Cathedral,  neither  has  he  seen 
the  canons.  The  last  time  they  sent  a  deputation  to 
the  palace  everybody  trembled.  They  went  to  propose 
I  know  not  what  reform  to  the  Primate,  and  they  began 

by  saying,  '  My  lord,  the  Chapter  thinks  .'     Don 

Sebastian,  turned  into  a  basilisk,  interrupted  them, 
*  The  Chapter  cannot  think  anything ;  the  Chapter  has 
not  common  sense,'  and  he  turned  his  back,  leaving 
them  petrified.  Afterwards,  he  began  shouting,  and 
thumping  the  furniture  with  his  fists,  saying  he  would 
fill  all  the  vacancies  in  the  Cathedral  with  the  dregs 
of  the  clergy,  that  he  would  fill  the  Chapter  with 
drunkards,  with  impostors,  etc.  '  I  will  harass  the 
Chapter,'  he  shouted,  '  I  will  dirty  it ;  I  will  teach  them 
to  talk  less  of  me ;  I  will  cover  them,  yes,  sir,  I  will 
cover  them  with  .  .  .  .  '  And  you  may  guess,  uncle, 
with  what  His  Eminence  wished  to  cover  the  canons. 
And  the  poor  man  was  right.     Why  should  those  in 

C.  L 


146  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  choir  interfere  with  this  way  or  that  way  that  Don 
Sebastian  hves,  or  if  he  has  those  bonds  or  others  ? 
Does  not  he  let  them  Hve  as  they  choose  ?  Does  he 
ever  say  a  word  to  them  about  their  scandalous  visits, 
although  all  Toledo  knows  of  them  ?  " 

"  And  what  do  the  canons  say  about  the  cardinal  ?  " 

"  They  say  Juanito  is  his  grandson,  and  that  his 
father,  who  died,  and  who  passed  as  nephew  of  His 
Eminence,  was  really  his  son  by  a  certain  lady  when  he 
was  bishop  in  Andalusia.  But  this  does  not  seem 
to  irritate  Don  Sebastian  much  ;  but  what  does  irritate 
him  and  makes  him  behave  like  a  fiend  is  when  they 
speak  of  Dona  Visitacion." 

"  And  who  is  that  lady  ?  " 

"  Come,  that  is  good !  You  do  not  know  Dona 
Visitacion  ?  When  no  one  inside  the  Cathedral  or 
out  of  it  can  speak  of  anybody  else  ?  She  is  the 
niece  of  Don  Sebastian,  who  lives  with  him  in  the 
palace.  It  is  she  who  rules  everything,  and  Don 
Sebastian,  who  is  so  terrible  with  everyone  else, 
becomes  like  an  angel  when  he  sees  her.  He  rages 
and  screams  and  bites  the  days  when  he  is  ill,  but  if 
Dona  Visita  appears,  he  controls  himself  at  once ;  he 
suffers  in  silence,  moans  like  a  child,  and  it  is  sufficient 
for  her  to  say  a  soft  word,  or  give  him  a  caress  for 
His  Eminence  to  slobber  with  delight.  He  loves  her 
dearly." 

"  But  what  is  she  ?  "  asked  Gabriel  with  interest. 

"  Clearly  she  is  what  you  think.  What  else  could 
she  be  ?  She  was  from  her  childhood  in  the  college 
for  noble  ladies,  and  as  soon  as  the  cardinal  came  to 
Toledo  he  took  her  out,  and  brought  her  to  the  palace. 
What  a  blind  infatuation  is  Don  Sebastian's  !  And  the 
thing  is,  the  object  is  hardly  worth  it — a  very  thin,  pale 
little  girl,  with  large  eyes  and  a  soft  skin ;  that  is  all. 


THE   SHADOW   OF  THE   CATHEDRAL  147 

They  say  she  sings,  and  plays  the  piano,  and  reads  and 
knows  a  great  many  things  that  they  teach  in  that 
wealthy  college,  and  by  God's  grace  can  keep  His 
Eminence  in  order.  She  comes  sometimes  into  the 
Cathedral  by  the  arch,  dressed  as  a  beatita  with  the 
habit  and  mantilla,  accompanied  by  a  very  ugly 
servant." 

"  She  cannot  be  what  you  think,  youngster." 

"  Go  on  ;  all  the  Chapter  affirm  it,  and  even  the  most 
steady  canons  thoroughly  believe  it.  Even  those  who 
are  friends  and  favourites  of  His  Eminence,  and  carry 
him  tales  about  all  the  grumbling  against  him,  do  not 
deny  it  with  any  warmth.  And  Don  Sebastian  gets 
angry,  and  is  furious  each  time  any  murmurs  about  this 
reach  his  ears.  If  they  told  him  the  choir  intended  to 
give  a  dance  he  would  be  less  irritated  than  when  he 
hears  them  wag  their  tongues  about  Dona  Visita." 

The  Perrero  was  silent  for  a  few  moments  as  though 
he  were  doubtful  about  saying  something  serious. 

"  The  lady  is  very  good  and  kind.  They  all  love  her 
in  the  palace  because  she  speaks  so  gently.  Besides,  she 
makes  use  of  the  great  power  she  has  over  the  cardinal 
to  prevent  the  violence  of  His  Eminence,  who  very 
often,  when  he  is  racked  with  excessive  pain,  would 
throw  cups  and  plates  at  the  heads  of  his  servants. 
Why  should  they  interfere  with  her  ?  Does  she  do 
them  any  harm  ?  Let  everyone  do  as  he  likes  in  his 
own  house,  and  he  who  does  evil,  let  God  punish  him." 

He  scratched  his  head  as  though  he  were  once  more 
doubtful. 

"  And  as  to  what  Doiia  Visita  is  to  the  Cardinal," 
he  added,  **  I  have  no  doubt  whatever.  I  have  facts  to 
go  on,  uncle,  and  I  know  how  they  live.  One  of  the 
servants  has  often  seen  them  kissing — that  is  to  say,  not 
the  two  kissing.      No,  she  does  the  kissing,  and  Don 

L  2 


148  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Sebastian  receives  her  kittenish  ways  with  the  smile  of 
an  angel.     The  poor  man  is  so  old !  " 

And  the  Tato  ended  his  confidences  with  various 
indecent  remarks. 

All  this  grumblingagainstthe  cardinal,  that  came  from 
the  sacristy  up  to  the  cloister,  annoyed  Gabriel's  brother 
greatly.  The  "  Wooden  Staff,"  who  was  a  staunch 
private  soldier  of  the  Church,  could  not  bear  to  hear 
with  equanimity  those  attacks  on  his  superiors  ;  in  his 
opinion  they  were  all  calumnies.  The  canons  had 
spoken  of  all  the  preceding  archbishops  precisely  as 
they  now  spoke  of  Don  Sebastian,  but  this  did  not  in 
the  least  prevent  their  all  being  called  saints  after  their 
deaths.  When  he  discovered  the  Tato  repeating  in 
the  Claverias  all  the  gossip  from  down  below,  he 
threatened  him  with  all  his  authority  as  head  of  the 
house. 

Esteban  was  also  very  much  concerned  at  the  state 
of  his  brother's  health.  He  was  pleased  at  the  very 
prudent  behaviour  of  the  latter,  who  conformed  with 
silent  respect  to  all  the  customs  of  the  Cathedral,  never 
permitting  a  word  to  escape  him  that  could  reveal  his 
past ;  he  felt  beyond  measure  proud  of  the  atmosphere 
of  admiration  that  surrounded  his  brother,  and  the 
attention  with  which  the  simple  inhabitants  of  the 
cloister  listened  to  the  account  of  his  travels,  but  the 
state  of  his  health  was  a  continual  anxiety,  the  certainty 
that  death  had  laid  its  hand  upon  him,  and  that  it  was 
solely  the  care  with  which  he  was  surrounded  that 
retarded  the  fatal  moment. 

There  were  days  in  which  the  Silenciario  smiled  with 
pleasure,  seeing  Gabriel  a  better  colour,  and  hearing  less 
frequently  his  painful  cough. 

"  You  are  going  on  well,  brother,"  he  would  say 
joyfully. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  149 

"  Yes,"  replied  Gabriel,  **  but  do  not  have  any  illu- 
sions. That  will  come  at  its  own  hour,  it  has  me  in  its 
grasp.  It  is  only  you  who  are  holding  it  back,  but  one 
day  it  will  be  stronger  than  you." 

The  certainty  that  death  would  at  last  be  victorious 
made  Esteban  redouble  his  efforts.  He  thought  that 
frequent  nourishment  was  the  only  remedy,  and  he 
scarcely  ever  approached  Gabriel  without  something  in 
his  hands. 

"  Eat  this.     Drink  what  I  bring  you." 

He  struggled  valiantly  with  that  broken  constitution, 
with  that  stomach  disordered  by  poverty,  with  those 
lacerated  lungs  and  with  that  heart  subject  to  constant 
disturbance  of  its  functions,  with  that  human  machine 
dislocated  by  a  life  of  suffering  and  trials. 

The  constant  watching  over  the  sick  man  had  upset 
Esteban's  economic  life ;  his  miserable  wages  and  the 
poor  assistance  the  Chapel-master  could  give  were 
insufficient  even  for  that  extra  mouth,  which  consumed 
more  than  all  the  others  in  the  household  put  together. 
At  the  end  of  the  month  Esteban  was  obliged  to  invoke 
the  aid  of  Silver  Stick  to  enable  him  to  get  along  the 
last  few  days,  entering  thus  into  the  humble  and 
miserable  flock  bound  by  the  priest's  usury.  Some- 
times the  Chapel-master,  waking  for  an  instant  to 
reality,  would  give  him  a  few  pesetas,  sacrificing  the 
joy  of  obtaining  a  fresh  score. 

Gabriel  guessed  the  privations  that  his  brother  under- 
went, and  was  anxious  to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of 
the  little  household.  But  what  work  could  he  obtain 
in  his  concealment  in  the  Cathedral  ?  He  wished  for 
some  post  in  the  service  of  the  church,  in  order  to 
receive  at  the  beginning  of  every  month  a  few  pesetas 
from  the  hands  of  Silver  Stick  ;  but  all  the  posts  were 
occupied,  death  alone  could  cause  a  vacancy,  and  there 


150  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

were  many  eager  ones  watching  for  the  opportunity  to 
urge  their  family  claims. 

The  impossibility  of  being  useful  to  his  brother,  of 
helping  to  make  his  sacrifices  less  expensive,  weighed 
heavily  on  Gabriel,  and  disturbed  the  otherwise  placid 
monotony  of  his  life.  He  inquired  of  Esteban  as  to 
what  he  could  possibly  do,  not  to  remain  inactive,  but 
his  brother  always  answered  with  his  kindly  expression  : 

"  Take  care  of  yourself,  only  take  care  of  yourself ; 
you  have  no  other  duty  but  to  look  after  your  own 
health,    I    am    here   to   do   all   the   rest." 

When  Holy  Week  came  round  Gabriel  found  an 
opportunity  of  getting  a  few  days'  work.  They  were 
going  to  put  up  in  the  Cathedral  the  famous  "Monu- 
ment "  between  the  choir  and  the  Puerta  del  Perdon. 
It  was  a  heavy  and  complicated  erection,  of  a  sumptuous 
and  roccoco  style,  which  had  cost  the  second  Cardinal 
de  Bourbon  a  fortune  at  the  beginning  of  last  century. 
A  real  forest  of  woodwork  formed  the  basis  of  the 
monument ;  the  riches  of  the  cardinal  had  created  a 
prodigality  of  solidity  and  sumptuousness,  and  several 
days  were  required  to  fit  together  the  Holy  Catafalque, 
and  not  a  few  workmen. 

Gabriel  interviewed  Don  Antolin  asking  for  a  place  on 
the  works.  The  wages  were  seven  reals  a  day,  which 
he  would  be  able  to  give  his  brother  for  two  weeks  ;  and 
he,  who  had  been  used  in  former  days  to  have  his  work 
so  lavishly  paid,  accepted  this  small  daily  wage  as  a 
piece  of  unexpected  good  fortune. 

The  "  Wooden  Staff"  was  indignant.  Gabriel  was  ill 
and  ought  not  to  risk  his  poor  health  in  the  fatigues  of 
this  work.  What  was  he  going  to  do,  coughing  and 
suffocating  every  moment  ?  How  was  he  going  to  under- 
take the  heavy  work  of  carrying  the  framework  and 
fixing  it  together  ?    The  invalid  tranquillised  him.     He 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  151 

knew  what  those  works  were  in  the  church  ;  everything 
was  done  with  parsimony,  but  without  much  regard  to 
time.  The  workmen  in  the  service  of  the  church  worked 
with  that  calm  laziness,  and  that  slow  prudence 
which  characterised  every  act  of  religion.  Besides,  Silver 
Stick,  knowing  his  condition,  would  reserve  the  least 
heavy  work  for  him ;  he  could  fix  screws  and 
bolts,  place  the  candelabra  in  line  on  the  steps,  and 
arrange  the  tapestry ;  he  trusted  him  as  a  man  of 
good  taste  who  had  seen  much  in  his  travels. 

Gabriel  worked  for  two  weeks  on  the  monument. 
This  time  of  relative  activity  seemed  to  give  him  a  certain 
amount  of  relief.  He  moved  about,  intent  on  giving 
orders  to  his  fellow-workers  ;  he  went  from  the  church 
to  the  top  of  the  Claverias,  where  the  monument  was 
stored,  and  seeing  himself  covered  with  dust,  and  with 
his  limbs  fatigued  by  the  constant  coming  and  going,  he 
deluded  himself  into  thinking  he  was  strong  again. 

During  these  two  weeks  he  never  went  to  the  shoe- 
maker's house,  and  so  lost  sight  of  his  various  friends. 
The  bell-ringer  and  his  friends  were  lost  in  astonishment. 
A  man  of  so  much  learning,  to  work  like  one  of  them- 
selves in  order  to  help  his  brother ! 

The  Senora  Tomasa  stopped  him  one  morning  by  the 
iron  railing  of  the  garden. 

"  I  have  news,  Gabriel.  I  think  I  know  where  our 
child  is.  I  won't  say  any  more  ;  but  be  ready  to  help  me. 
The  day  when  you  least  expect  it  you  may  see  her  in 
the  Cathedral." 

The  erection  of  the  monument  was  finished.  All  that 
part  of  the  church  between  the  choir  and  the  door  del 
Perdon  was  occupied  by  this  showy  and  ponderous 
fabric.  According  to  their  traditional  custom  all  the 
Toledans  gathered  to  admire — the  steps  covered  with 
rows   of    burning    lights,    the    Roman    legionaries    in 


152  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

alabaster  leaning  on  their  lances,  and  the  rich  curtain 
with  its  innumerable  folds  that  hung  from  the  vaulting 
down  to  the  platform  of  the  monument. 

On  the  evening  of  Holy  Thursday  Gabriel  stood  con- 
sidering what  was  in  some  sense  his  work,  surrounded 
by  a  group  of  worshippers.  The  Cathedral  shone  with 
its  immaculate  whiteness,  in  spite  of  the  black  veils 
that  covered  both  statues  and  altars.  The  clouds  of 
colour  from  the  lovely  rose  windows  relieved  the 
funereal  aspect  of  the  religious  ceremony,  while  from 
the  choir  a  tenor  voice  intoned  the  lamentations  of  the 
oriental  prophet. 

Gabriel  felt  someone  pulling  his  jacket,  and  turning, 
saw  the  gardener's  widow. 

"  Come,  nephew,  we  have  got  her  here ;  she  is  waiting 
for  you  in  the  cloister." 

Coming  out,  the  Seiiora  Tomasa  pointed  to  a  woman 
sitting  crouched  on  the  stone  coping  of  the  garden, 
wrapped  in  an  old  cloak,  and  with  the  headkerchief 
drawn  down  over  her  eyes. 

Gabriel  would  never  have  recognised  her.  He  remem- 
bered the  pretty  smiling  face  of  former  years,  and  he 
looked  almost  with  horror  at  the  tarnished  youth, 
haggard  with  prominent  cheek-bones,  of  the  face  before 
him.  The  eyes  deep  sunk  in  the  sockets  without  eye- 
brows or  eyelashes,  with  the  pupils  still  beautiful,  but 
dulled  with  a  glassy  opacity.  Everything  about  her 
revealed  poverty  and  desolation;  the  dress  was  a  summer 
one,  and  from  under  it  showed  her  split  boots  much  too 
large  for  her  feet. 

"Salute  him,  child,"  said  the  old  woman.  *'  It  is  your 
Uncle  Gabriel,  one  of  God's  angels,  in  spite  of  his 
misfortunes,  and  you  owe  it  to  him  that  we  searched 
for  you." 

The  gardener's  widow  pushed  Sagrario  towards  her 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  153 

uncle,  but  the  young  woman  lowered  her  head,  moved 
her  shoulders  and  drew  back,  as  though  she  could  not 
endure  the  presence  of  a  member  of  her  family  ;  she 
covered  her  face  with  her  wretched  cloak  to  hide  her 
tears. 

"  Aunt,  let  us  go  home,"  said  Gabriel,  "  it  is  not  good 
for  the  child  to  be  here." 

At  the  cloister  staircase  they  made  the  young  woman 
pass  on  in  front ;  she  went  up  with  her  head  bent  and 
without  looking,  as  though  her  feet  trod  those  broken 
steps  instinctively. 

"  We  arrived  from  Madrid  this  morning,"  said  the 
gardener's  widow  as  they  went  up.  "  I  kept  her  at  an 
inn  till  it  was  time  to  bring  her  to  the  Cathedral  in  the 
evening.  It  is  the  best  time,  for  Esteban  is  in  the  choir, 
and  you  will  have  time  to  settle  things  here.  I  spent 
three  days  there.  Ay,  Gabriel,  my  son,  what  things  I 
have  seen,  what  hells  there  are  for  poor  women !  and 
we  call  ourselves  Christians,  but  I  think  we  are  fiends  ! 
Mercifully  I  had  friends  at  court — some  old  bell-ringers 
who  had  been  in  the  Cathedral  and  who  remembered 
the  gardener's  widow.  I  wanted  everything,  even 
money,  to  get  this  unhappy  girl  out  of  the  devil's 
clutches." 

The  upper  cloister  was  quite  deserted.  On  arriving 
at  the  door  of  the  Lunas  the  girl  seemed  to  wake  up, 
and  drew  quickly  back  with  a  look  of  terror,  as  though 
inside  the  "  habitacion  "  some  great  danger  was  awaiting 
her. 

"  Go  in,  woman,  go  in,"  said  the  aunt ;  "it  is  your 
home.     You  had  to  come  back  some  time  or  other." 

And  she  pushed  her  till  she  was  through  the  door. 
Once  inside  the  sitting-room  her  tears  ceased ;  she 
looked  round  with  astonishment,  no  doubt  surprised  at 
finding   herself  there.     Her  eyes  examined  everything 


154  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

with  a  sort  of  stupefaction,  as  though  marvelling  that 
everything  should  be  in  the  same  place  as  five  years 
before,  and  with  an  exactitude  that  made  her  doubt  if 
such  a  long  time  had  really  elapsed.  Nothing  seemed 
changed  in  that  little  world  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Cathedral.  She  only,  who  had  left  it  in  the  bloom  of 
her  youth,  now  returned  aged  and  broken. 

There  was  a  long  silence  between  the  three  people. 

"  Your  room,  Sagrario,"  said  Gabriel  at  last  gently, 
"is  the  same  as  when  you  left  it.  Go  in  and  do  not  come 
out  till  I  call  you.  Be  calm  and  do  not  cry  ;  trust  me. 
You  do  not  know  me  well,  but  the  aunt  will  have  told 
you  that  I  am  interested  in  your  fate.  Your  father  will 
soon  be  coming ;  hide  yourself  and  be  silent.  I  repeat 
it  again,  do  not  come  out  till  I  call  you." 

When  the  old  woman  and  her  nephew  were  alone 
they  could  hear  the  girl's  suffocating  sobs  that  burst  out 
on  seeing  her  old  room.  Afterwards  they  heard  a  sound 
as  though  she  were  throwing  herself  on  the  bed,  and  the 
violence  of  her  grief  seemed  to  become  more  and  more 
uncontrolled. 

"  Poor  child !  "  said  the  old  woman,  who  was  very 
nearly  crying  also,  "she  is  good,  and  she  has  repented 
of  her  sins ;  if  only  her  father  had  sought  her  out  when 
that  rascal  deserted  her,  what  shame  and  misery  it 
would  have  spared  her.  And  her  health  ?  I  really 
think  she  is  worse  than  you  are,  Gabriel.  Oh,  those 
men !  with  their  honour  which  is  nothing  more  than 
lies  !  What  is  honourable  is  to  be  charitable  and  com- 
passionate to  others,  and  to  harm  no  one.  I  said  this 
the  other  day  when  I  was  shocked  at  the  shamelessness 
of  my  son-in-law,  who  was  furious  at  my  going  to 
Madrid  to  find  the  child.  He  spoke  of  the  honour  of 
the  family,  and  that  if  Sagrario  returned  no  decent  people 
could  live  in  the  Cathedral,  and  that  he  could  not  allow 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  155 

his  daughter  to  stand  at  the  door  ;  and  he  such  a  thief 
that  he  steals  the  Virgin's  wax  every  day,  and  deceives 
the  devout  who  pay  him  for  masses  that  are  never  said; 
that  is  why  his  skin  shines  so  and  he  is  so  fat.  With  so 
much  honour."  ; 

After  a  short  silence  the  old  woman  looked'undecidedly 
at  Gabriel. 

"  Well,  shall  we  begin  the  struggle  ?  Shall  I  call 
Esteban  ?  " 

"  Yes,  call  him,  he  will  be  in  the  Cathedral.  And 
you,  shall  you  dare  to  be  present  at  the  interview  ?  " 

"  No,  son,  manage  it  yourself.  You  know  Esteban, 
and  you  know  me.  I  should  either  begin  to  cry,  or  I 
should  turn  and  rend  him  for  his  obstinacy.  You  will 
manage  better  by  yourself,  for  this  God  has  given  you 
those  talents  that  you  have  used  so  badly." 

The  old  woman  went  away,  and  Gabriel  remained 
alone  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  looking  out  of  a 
window  into  the  deserted  cloister.  The  yearly  com- 
memoration of  the  death  of  God  spread  in  the  priestly 
tribe  on  the  roofs,  an  atmosphere  of  sadness  even  more 
marked  than  that  inside  the  church.  All  the  women 
and  children  of  the  Claverias  were  down  below  admir- 
ing the  monument,  the  "  habitacions  "  seemed  quite 
deserted.  As  he  sat  Gabriel  saw  his  brother  pass  by 
the  window,  and  in  another  moment  he  appeared  at 
the  door. 

"  What  do  you  want,  Gabriel  ?  What  has  happened 
to  you  ?  The  aunt  frightened  me  with  her  summons. 
Are  you  worse  ?  " 

"  Sit  down,  Esteban.     I  am  well,  calm  yourself." 

The  "Wooden  Staff"  looked  with  surprise  at  Gabriel; 
his  strange  seriousness  alarmed  him  and  the  prolonged 
silence  in  which  he  appeared  to  be  arranging  his 
thoughts  without  knowing  where  to  begin. 


156  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Speak  man  !  Do  make  a  beginning  ;  you  alarm  me." 

"  Brother,"  said  Gabriel  gravely,  "  you  know  very 
well  that  I  have  respected  the  mystery  in  your  life 
that  I  found  on  my  return  here.  You  said  to  me,  '  My 
daughter  is  dead,"  and  you  never  showed  any  wish  to 
speak  of  her,  and  you  can  say  if  I  have  ever  touched 
your  old  wound  by  the  slightest  allusion." 

"  Well,  and  what  then  ?  When  are  you  going  to 
stop?"  said  Esteban,  becoming  very  gloomy;  "  why  do 
you  speak  to  me  on  a  day  so  holy  of  things  that  cause 
me  so  much  pain  ?  " 

"  Esteban,  we  shall  never  understand  each  other  if 
you  hold  on  to  your  prejudices.  Do  not  make  that 
gesture,  but  listen  to  me  calmly ;  do  not  act  like  an 
automaton,  pulled  by  the  same  wires  that  moved  our 
grandfathers  and  our  ancestors.  Be  a  man,  and  act 
according  to  your  own  thoughts.  You  and  I  have 
different  beliefs.  Setting  aside  religion  which  I  know  is 
a  consolation  to  you,  you  know  that  I  am  silent  as  to 
mine,  so  as  not  to  render  my  life  here  impossible.  But 
apart  from  this,  you  believe  that  the  family  is  a  work 
of  God,  an  institution  of  supernatural  origin.  I  believe 
it  to  be  a  human  institution  based  on  the  necessities  of 
the  species.  You  condemn  for  ever  anyone  who  betrays 
the  laws  of  the  family,  or  who  deserts  his  banner,  you 
sentence  him  to  death  and  oblivion.  I  pity  his  weakness 
and  forgive.  We  understand  honour  from  a  different 
point  of  view.  You  believe  in  the  Castillian  honour — 
that  traditional  and  barbarous  honour,  more  cruel  and 
dismal  even  than  dishonour ;  a  theatrical  honour,  whose 
impulses  are  never  founded  on  human  feeling,  but  on  the 
fear  of  what  others  will  say,  the  desire  to  appear 
greater  and  more  dignified  in  the  eyes  of  others  than  to 
your  own  conscience.  For  the  adulterous  wife,  death  ; 
for  the  murderer,  revenge ;  for  the  fugitive  daughter, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  157 

contempt  and  forgetfulness ;  this  is  your  gospel.  I 
have  another  standard ;  for  the  wife  who  forgets  her 
duties,  contempt  and  obHvion ;  for  that  fragment  of 
our  own  flesh  who  flys  from  us,  love,  support,  gentle- 
ness, even  endeavouring  to  compass  her  return  to  us. 
Esteban,  we  are  separated  by  our  beliefs,  the  gulf  of 
centuries  lies  between  us,  but  you  are  my  brother,  we 
love  each  other,  and  I  only  desire  your  good.  I  bear 
the  same  name  of  which  you  are  so  proud,  and  I  loved 
our  poor  parents  as  much  as  you  could  love  them,  and 
in  the  name  of  all  these  I  tell  you  that  this  situation 
must  come  to  an  end  ;  you  must  not  live  insensible  and 
frozen  in  what  you  call  your  dignity,  without  the 
remembrance  of  your  daughter  wandering  about  the 
world,  troubling  you.  You,  who  are  so  kind,  who  have 
sheltered  me  in  the  most  difficult  crisis  of  my  life,  how 
can  you  sleep,  how  can  you  eat,  without  your  life  being 
embittered  by  the  remembrance  of  your  lost  daughter  ? 
What  do  you  know  about  her  now  ?  May  she  not  be 
dying  of  hunger  while  you  eat  ?  May  she  not  be  lying 
in  a  hospital  while  you  are  living  in  the  home  of  your 
fathers  ?  " 

Esteban's  brow  contracted,  and  he  wore  his  gloomiest 
look  as  he  listened  to  his  brother. 

"  It  is  useless  for  you  to  strive,  Gabriel,  nothing  can 
come  of  it.  Have  I  denied  you  anything  ?  Am  I  not 
ready  to  do  anything  for  my  brother  ?  But  do  not  speak 
to  me  of  that ;  she  has  caused  me  much  pain,  she  has 
broken  my  life,  how  I  did  not  die,  I  know  not.  Have 
you  thought  well  that  for  centuries  the  family  of  the 
Lunas  have  been  the  mirror  of  the  Cathedral,  respected 
by  even  the  archbishops,  and  now,  suddenly  to  find 
oneself  among  the  lowest,  exposed  to  the  ridicule  of  all 
and  looked  upon  with  compassion  by  the  veriest  little 
acolyte !      What  I  have  suffered !    The  times  I  have 


158  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

wept  with  rage  alone  in  this  home,  hearing  what  they 
were  saying  behind  my  back.  And  then,"  he  added 
quietly  as  though  grief  were  paralysing  his  voice, 
"  there  was  that  unhappy  martyr  who  died  of  shame  ; 
my  poor  wife  who  left  the  world  so  as  not  to  see  my 
grief  and  the  contempt  of  others !  And  do  you  wish  me 
to  forget  all  this  ?  For  the  rest,  Gabriel,  I  cannot 
express  what  I  feel  as  well  as  you  do.  But  honour — is 
honour.  It  is  to  live  in  my  house  without  fear  of  being 
shamed,  to  sleep  at  night  without  fearing  to  see  in  the 
darkness  our  father's  eyes,  asking  why  I  allow  a  lost 
woman  to  live  under  the  same  roof  that  the  Lunas  won 
for  themselves  by  centuries  of  service  to  the  house  of 
God ;  it  is  to  avoid  people  mocking  at  our  family.  Let 
them  say,  '  Those  Lunas  !  how  unfortunate  they  are,' 
but  they  shall  never  say  the  Lunas  are  a  family  wanting 
in  shame.  By  our  love,  brother,  leave  me  ;  do  not  speak 
to  me  of  this.  Those  evil  doctrines  have  poisoned  your 
mind  ;  not  only  have  you  ceased  to  believe  in  God,  but 
you  have  ceased  to  believe  in  honour." 

*'  And  what  is  all  this  ? "  said  Gabriel,  warming, 
"  You  yourself  do  not  know.  '  Honour  is  honour.'  Well, 
I  say,  children  are  children.  You,  man  of  prejudices, 
you  do  not  wait  to  consider  that  those  beings  are  the 
continuation  of  our  own  existence.  Your  religion 
makes  you  think  children  are  a  fruit  from  God,  never- 
theless you  think  yourself  better  and  more  perfect  when 
you  reject  and  curse  those  gifts  of  Heaven  if  they 
cause  you  any  trouble.  No,  Esteban,  the  love  of 
children  and  pity  for  their  faults  ought  to  come  before 
all  prejudices.  This  eternal  life  of  the  soul,  that  lying 
promise  of  religion,  is  only  true  through  our  children. 
The  soul  dies  with  the  body ;  it  is  no  more  than  a 
manifestation  of  our  own  thoughts,  and  thought  is  a 
cerebral    function,    but   children    perpetuate   our   own 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  159 

being  throughout  the  generations  and  the  centuries  ;  it 
is  they  who  make  us  immortal,  and  that  preserve  and 
transmit  something  of  our  personaHty,  even  as  we  have 
inherited  something  from  our  ancestors.  He  who 
forgets  those  beings  who  are  his  own  creation  is  more 
worthy  of  execration  than  he  who  leaves  life  by  suicide. 
The  disappointments  of  life,  the  laws  and  customs 
invented  by  men,  what  are  they  before  the  instinctive 
affection  we  feel  for  beings  that  have  proceeded  from 
ourselves,  and  who  perpetuate  the  infinite  variety  of 
our  habits  and  thoughts  ?  I  abhor  those  wretches  who, 
in  order  not  to  disturb  the  commonplace  peace  of 
matrimony,  abandon  the  children  they  have  outside 
the  house.  Paternity  is  the  most  noble  of  all  animal 
functions,  but  the  animals  have  more  courage  and 
dignity  than  man  in  fulfilling  it.  No  animal  of  the 
higher  sort  abandons  or  disowns  its  cub,  and  yet  there 
are  many  men  who  turn  their  backs  on  their  children 
for  fear  of  what  people  will  say.  If  I,  having  a  son, 
were  enamoured  of  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the 
world,  and  she  required  me  to  forget  that  son,  I  would 
stifle  my  passion  sooner  than  abandon  the  little  one. 
If  my  son  sinned  against  every  human  law,  and  was 
sent  to  prison,  even  there  would  I  follow  him,  defying 
the  execration  of  the  world,  sooner  than  deny  that  he 
is  my  work.  We  are  united  for  ever  to  the  creatures 
to  whom  we  give  life,  it  is  a  compromise  of  solidarity 
that  we  make  with  the  species  when  we  work  for  its 
continuance.  He  who  breaks  the  chain  and  flies  is  a 
coward." 

"You  will  not  convince  me,  Gabriel,"  screamed 
Esteban.     "  I  will  not !— I  will  not  !  " 

"  I  repeat  it  is  cowardly  on  your  part.  This  honour 
that  weighs  so  heavily  on  you  is  a  cruel  and  antiquated 
honour  that  settles  all  the  conflicts  of  life  by  shedding 


i6oTHE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

blood.  Why  do  you  not  seek  the  man  who  stole  your 
daughter  ?  Why  do  you  not  kill  him  like  a  father  in  an 
old  play  ?  Is  it  because  you  are  a  fearful  man  and 
have  not  learnt  the  art  of  murder,  and  that  arms  are 
his  profession  ?  If  you  had  taken  lawless  vengeance, 
relying  only  on  what  you  think  your  right,  his  powerful 
family  would  have  retaliated  on  you  ;  but  you  have  not 
revenged  yourself  through  an  instinct  of  self-preserva- 
tion, through  fear  of  prison  and  all  the  punishments 
invented  by  society  ;  you  have  been  afraid  in  spite  of 
your  anger,  and  this  fear  you  indulge  at  the  expense  of 
cruelty  to  the  weaker  creature.  Your  anger  only  falls 
on  your  daughter.  Come,  Esteban,  this  is  not  worthy 
of  a  man." 

The  "  Wooden  Staff "  shook  his  head  obstinately. 
"  You  will  not  convince  me,  I  do  not  wish  to  hear 
you.     That  woman  shall  not  return  here ;  did  she  not 
leave  me  ?     Let  her  follow  her  own  path." 

"  She  left  you  from  impulses  of  that  instinct  which 
all  healthy  beings  possess.  That  instinct  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  species,  which  poetry  beautifies  and 
which  it  calls  '  Love.'  If  she  had  left  you  after  receiv- 
ing the  blessing  of  a  man  before  an  altar,  you  would 
have  been  delighted,  and  would  have  received  her  with 
open  arms  whenever  she  came  to  see  you.  She  left  you 
to  be  deceived,  to  fall  into  misery  and  shame,  and, 
seeing  her  so  unhappy,  does  she  not  deserve  more  pity 
at  your  hands  than  if  you  saw  her  living  happily  ? 
Reflect,  Esteban,  on  the  way  in  which  your  poor 
daughter  fell.  What  had  you  taught  her  to  enable  her 
to  defend  herself  from  the  evil  in  the  world  ?  How  was 
she  armed  to  preserve  intact  what  you  call  honour  ? 
You  and  your  wife  had  set  her  the  example  of  the  respect 
due  to  wealth  and  high  birth  by  allowing  that  young 
man  to  come  to  your  house,  thinking  it  an  honour  that 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  i6i 

a  gentleman  should  have  fallen  in  love  with  your 
daughter.  When  the  inevitable  results  of  social  in- 
equality came  about  she  could  not  give  him  up ;  she 
had  one  of  those  noble  natures  that  rise  in  revolt 
against  the  prejudices  of  the  world,  even  at  the  risk  of 
suffering  all  the  bitterness  of  their  rebellion,  and  she  fell 
vanquished.  Whom  can  you  blame  ?  Her  ignorance,  her 
life  of  isolation  from  the  world,  or  yourselves  who 
never  taught  her  better,  and  who,  blinded  by  ambition, 
let  her  wander  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice  ?  Blame 
her  less  than  anybody.  Unhappy  girl !  She  has  paid 
with  interest  her  noble  defiance  of  social  prejudices. 
She  has  been  vanquished  in  the  social  fight — a  corpse 
that  has  to  be  buried ;  and  you,  her  father,  ought  to  be 
the  one  to  fulfil  that  work  of  mercy." 

Esteban,  with   his   head   bent,    continued   to   make 
gestures   of  refusal. 

"Brother,"  said  Gabriel  solemnly;  "if  you  hold 
tenaciously  to  your  refusal  I  have  only  one  thing  more 
to  say.  If  your  daughter  does  not  return  here,  I  must 
go.  Everyone  has  his  scruples  ;  you  fear  the  gossip  of 
the  people ;  I  fear  myself  and  what  my  thoughts  can 
throw  in  my  face  in  my  solitary  moments.  Since  I 
have  been  your  guest  I  have  thought  constantly  of  your 
daughter,  and  ever  since  I  have  known  what  happened 
in  this  house  I  have  proposed  to  myself  that  the  unhappy 
victim  should  return  here.  You  will  not  let  her  return  ? 
Well  then,  I  must  go.  I  should  be  a  thief  if  I  ate  your 
bread  while  a  creature  who  is  flesh  of  your  flesh  suffers 
hunger,  or  if  I  should  be  nursed  in  my  illness  while  she, 
who  is  possibly  worse  than  I  am,  has  no  friendly  hand 
to  comfort  her.  If  she  does  not  return,  I  am  not  your 
brother,  but  an  intruder,  usurping  the  share  of  affection 
and  comfort  that  ought  to  fall  to  her.  Brother,  every- 
one has  his  own  code  of  morality ;  yours  is  taught  by 
c.  M 


i62  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  priests,  mine  I  have  made  for  myself,  and  though  it 
is  less  apparent,  it  may  very  likely  be  more  strict.  In 
the  name  of  my  morality  I  say  to  you,  Esteban,  my 
brother,  either  your  daughter  returns  here  or  I  go  away. 
I  must  return  to  the  world  to  be  persecuted  like  a  wild 
beast,  to  the  hospital,  to  the  prison,  to  die  like  a  dog  in 
the  ditch  by  the  roadside.  I  do  not  know  what  will 
become  of  me,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  it  is  that  I 
shall  go  to-morrow,  or.  even  to-day,  so  as  not  to  enjoy  a 
moment  more  what  is  not  mine.  I,  who  consider  the 
appropriation  of  the  goods  of  the  world  by  a  privileged 
minority  as  an  iniquitous  robbery,  cannot  enjoy  know- 
ingly the  comforts  that  belong  by  natural  right  to  another 
unhappy  being.  I  can  only  enjoy  them  sharing  them 
with  her." 

Esteban  had  risen  to  his  feet  with  a  gesture  of  despair. 

"  Are  you  mad,  Gabriel  ?  Do  you  wish  to  leave  me  ? 
And  you  say  it  so  calmly  ?  Your  presence  here  is  the 
only  joy  of  my  life  after  so  many  misfortunes.  I  am 
accustomed  to  see  you.  I  must  care  for  you,  you 
are  my  whole  family ;  before  I  had  no  interest,  I  lived 
without  hope.  Now  I  have  one,  to  see  you  strong  and 
well,  and  can  you  say  so  carelessly  that  you  will  leave 
me  ?  No,  you  shall  not  go — only  this  was  wanting  to 
me — after  the  daughter,  the  brother ;  kill  me  once  for 
all  ! — Lord  God,  take  me  to  Thyself !  " 

And  the  simple  servant  of  the  Church  raised  his 
hands  in  supplication  while  his  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"  Be  calm,  Esteban.  Let  us  speak  like  men,  without 
exclamations  and  tears.  Look  at  me,  I  am  calm,  but 
do  not  think  for  that  it  is  less  certain  that  I  shall  go 
to-day  if  you  do  not  grant  me  what  I  pray." 

"  But — and  she  ?  Where  is  she  that  you  plead  so 
earnestly  for  her  ?  "  said  Esteban.  "  Have  you  seen 
her  and  spoken  to  her  ?     Is  she  in  Toledo  ?     Have  you 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  163 

with  the  insolence  of  your  unbelief  even  brought  her 
into  the  Cathedral  ?  " 

Gabriel,  seeing  him  tearful  and  broken  by  his 
threat  of  leaving,  thought  the  decisive  moment  had 
arrived,  and  opening  the  door  of  Sagrario's  room  he 
called : 

"  Come  out,  child,  ask  your  father's  pardon." 

He  looked  astounded,  then  he  fixed  his  eyes  on 
Gabriel  as  though  he  could  not  guess  who  that  woman 
was.     What  joke  had  his  brother  prepared  ? 

With  a  brutal  impulse  he  tore  the  woman's  hands 
from  her  face,  looking  at  her  earnestly ;  even  so  he  did  not 
recognise  her.  In  the  midst  of  a  painful  silence  he  stood  a 
long  while  looking  at  her.  Little  by  little,  in  that  face 
so  altered  by  illness,  he  began  to  trace  the  well-known 
features.  In  the  tearful  eyes  devoid  of  eyelashes  some- 
thing reminded  him  of  the  blue  eyes  of  the  lost  daughter. 
The  discoloured  lips,  surrounded  by  deep  lines,  quivered 
painfully,  murmuring  always  the  same  word  : 

"  Pardon  !  pardon  !  " 

At  the  sight  of  such  a  wreck  the  father  felt  his 
courage  fail ;  his  eyes  expressed  an  immense,  an  over- 
whelming sadness. 

He  retreated  backwards  to  the  door  of  the  "  habita- 
cion,"  followed  by  the  young  woman,  dragging  herself 
on  her  knees  and  stretching  out  her  hands. 

"  Brother,  it  is  well,"  he  said  despairingly  ;  "you  are 
stronger  than  I  am,  let  your  will  be  accomplished.  Let 
her  remain,  as  you  wish  it,  but  do  not  let  me  see  her ! — 
remain,  both  of  you.     It  is  I  that  will  go." 


M  2 


CHAPTER   VI 

The  sewing  machine  clicked  from  early  morning  till 
night  in  the  house  of  the  Lunas.  This  and  the  hammer- 
ing of  the  shoemaker  were  the  only  sounds  of  work 
that  disturbed  the  holy  silence  of  the  upper  cloister. 

When  Gabriel  left  his  bed  at  sunrise,  after  a  night  of 
painful  coughing,  he  would  find  Sagrario  already  in  the 
entrance  room  preparing  her  machine  for  the  day's 
work.  From  the  day  following  that  of  her  return  to 
the  Cathedral  she  had  devoted  herself  to  work  with 
sullen  silence  as  a  means  of  returning  unnoticed  to  the 
Claverias,  trusting  that  the  people  would  forgive  her 
past.  The  gardener's  widow  procured  her  work,  and 
so  the  sound  of  the  stitching  was  continually  heard 
in  the  old  "habitacion,"  accompained  very  often  by 
melodies  from  the  Chapel-master's  harmonium. 

The  "Wooden  Staff"  moved  about  his  house  like  a 
shadow.  He  remained  continually  in  the  Cathedral  or 
in  the  lower  cloister,  only  coming  up  to  the  "  habita- 
cion "  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary.  He  ate  his 
meals  with  his  head  bent,  in  order  not  to  look  at  his 
daughter,  who  was  seated  opposite  to  him  at  the  other 
end  of  the  table,  ready  to  burst  into  tears  at  the  sight 
of  her  father  before  her.  A  painful  silence  oppressed 
the  family.  Don  Luis  being  so  absent-minded,  seemed 
the  only  one  not  to  perceive  the  situation,  and  chatted 
gaily  with  Gabriel  about  his  hopes  and  his  musical 
enthusiasms.     Everything  seemed  to  him  quite  natural ; 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  165 

nothing  disturbed  him,  and  the  return  of  Sagrario  to  the 
family  hearth  had  not  caused  him  the  sHghtest  surprise. 

When  dinner  was  over  Esteban  fled,  not  to  return  to 
the  house  till  night-time  ;  after  supper  he  locked  himsef 
into  his  own  room,  leaving  his  brother  and  his  daughter 
in  possession  of  the  entrance  sitting-room.  The 
machine  began  to  work  again,  and  Don  Luis  fingered 
his  harmonium  till  nine  o'clock,  when  Silver  Stick 
locked  the  tower  staircase,  rattling  his  bunch  of  keys 
with  a  noise  that  equalled  a  curfew.  Gabriel  felt 
indignant  at  his  brother's  obstinacy. 

"You  will  kill  the  child;  what  you  are  doing  is 
unworthy  of  a  father." 

"  I  cannot  help  it,  brother ;  it  is  impossible  to  me  to 
look  at  her.  It  is  sufficient  for  me  to  tolerate  such 
things  in  the  house.  Ay  !  if  you  could  only  tell  how 
the  people's  looks  wound  me  !  " 

In  reality  the  scandal  produced  by  the  return  of 
Sagrario  to  the  Claverias  had  been  much  less  than  he 
had  feared.  She  seemed  so  ill  and  so  weary  that  none 
of  the  women  felt  any  animosity  against  her,  and  the 
energetic  protection  of  her  Aunt  Tomasa  imposed  respect. 
Besides,  those  simple  women  of  instinctive  passions 
could  not  now  feel  towards  her  that  hostile  envy  that  her 
beauty  and  the  cadet's  courtship  had  formerly  inspired. 
Even  Mariquita,  Silver  Stick's  niece,  found  a  certain 
salve  to  her  vanity  in  protecting  with  disdainful  toler- 
ance that  unhappy  girl  who  in  former  days  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  every  man  who  visited  the 
upper  cloister. 

Curiosity  only  disturbed  the  calm  of  the  Claverias  for 
about  a  week.  Little  by  little  the  women  ceased  to  stand 
about  the  Luna's  door  to  watch  Sagrario  bending  over 
her  machine,  and  the  girl  quietly  continued  her  sad  and 
hard-working  life. 


I66THE    SHADOW    OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

Gabriel  seldom  left  the  "habitacion."  He  spent  whole 
days  by  the  young  woman's  side,  endeavouring  by  his 
presence  to  atone  for  the  hostile  aloofness  of  her  father. 
It  pained  him  that  she  should  find  herself  so  despised 
and  solitary  in  her  own  house.  Every  now  and  then  the 
Aunt  Tomasa  came  to  see  them,  enlivening  them  with 
the  optimism  of  her  happy  old  age.  She  was  pleased 
with  her  niece's  conduct ;  to  work  hard  so  as  not  to  be 
a  drag  on  her  obstinate  old  father,  and  to  help  towards 
the  maintenance  of  the  house,  was  clearly  what  was 
required ;  but  all  the  same  there  was  no  reason  she 
should  kill  herself  with  work — calm  and  good  humour, 
this  bad  time  would  lead  to  a  better ;  she  was  there  to 
get  things  straight  with  that  fiend-possessed  Gabriel, 
and  she  made  the  gloomy  "habitacion"  ring  with  her 
healthy  laugh  and  lively  words. 

At  other  times  Gabriel's  friends  would  invade  the 
house,  abandoning  the  assemblies  at  the  shoemaker's. 
They  could  not  bear  Luna's  absence,  they  wanted  to 
hear  him,  to  consult  him,  and  even  the  shoemaker  when 
his  work  was  not  urgent  would  leave  his  bench  and, 
smelling  of  paste,  with  his  apron  tucked  into  his  belt 
and  his  head  rolled  up  in  striped  handkerchiefs,  would 
come  and  sit  by  Sagrario's  machine. 

The  young  woman  fixed  her  sad  eyes  with  admiration 
on  her  uncle.  She  had  always  from  her  childhood 
heard  her  parents  speak  with  respect  of  that  extra- 
ordinary relative  who  was  travelling  in  foreign  countries; 
she  vaguely  remembered  him  as  a  shadow  crossing  her 
love  dream  when  he  had  spent  a  few  days  in  the 
Cathedral  before  establishing  himself  in  Barcelona, 
astonishing  them  all  by  the  accounts  of  his  travels  and 
his  foreign  customs.  Now  she  returned  to  find  him 
aged,  as  sickly  as  herself,  but  influencing  all  who 
surrounded  him  by  the  mysterious  power  of  his  words, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  167 

that  were  like  heavenly  music  to  those  poor  narrow- 
minded  souls. 

In  the  midst  of  her  sadness  Sagrario  had  no  other 
pleasure  but  to  listen  to  her  uncle  ;  she  felt  the  same  as 
did  those  simple  men  who  left  their  work  to  seek  Luna 
in  their  anxiety  to  hear  fresh  things  from  his  lips. 
Gabriel  was  the  modern  world  that  for  so  many  years 
had  rolled  on  far  from  the  Cathedral,  never  touching 
it,  but  which  had  at  last  entered  in  to  stir  and  awaken 
a  handful  of  men  who  were  still  living  in  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  appearance  of  Sagrario  had  brought  about  a 
change  in  Luna's  life ;  he  became  more  communicative, 
and  he  lost  a  great  deal  of  the  reserve  he  had  imposed 
upon  himself  when  he  took  refuge  in  the  stony  lap  of 
the  church.  He  no  longer  forced  himself  to  keep  silence 
and  to  hide  his  thoughts ;  the  presence  of  a  woman 
seemed  to  enliven  him  and  wake  once  more  his 
propagandist  fervour.  His  companions  saw  a  new 
Gabriel — more  loquacious  and  more  disposed  to  com- 
municate to  them  the  "new  things,"  that  were  already 
upheaving  the  traditional  course  of  their  thoughts,  and 
that  even  now  had  on  many  nights  disturbed  their  sleep. 

They  talked,  discussed  and  consulted  Luna,  so  that 
he  could  clear  their  confused  ideas,  and  above  the 
voices  of  the  men  sounded  the  continual  click,  click  of 
the  sewing  machine,  always  busy,  like  an  echo  of  the 
universal  work  surging  in  the  world,  while  the  calm  of 
the  Infinite  spread  itself  through  the  precincts  of  the 
church. 

All  those  men,  accustomed  to  the  slow,  regular,  quiet 
duties  of  the  church,  with  long  periods  of  rest,  admired 
the  nervous  activity  of  Sagrario. 

"  You  will  kill  yourself,  child,"  said  the  old  organ- 
blower.  "  I  know  very  well  what  it  is  like,  I  have  done 


i68  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

something  of  the  same  sort ;  I  blow  and  blow  at  those 
bellows,  and  when  it  is  a  mass  with  much  music,  such 
as  Don  Luis  loves,  I  end  by  cursing  the  organ  and  him 
who  invented  it,  for  indeed  it  nearly  breaks  my  arms." 

**  Work ! "  said  the  bell-ringer  with  emphasis.  "  Work 
is  a  punishment  from  God  !  You  all  know  its  origin. 
It  was  the  eternal  penalty  imposed  on  our  first  parents 
by  the  Lord  when  He  drove  them  out  of  Paradise.  It 
is  a  chain  that  we  must  drag  on  for  ever." 

"  No,  senor,"  replied  the  shoemaker.  "As  I  have 
read  in  the  newspapers,  work  is  the  greatest  of  all  the 
virtues,  not  a  punishment ;  laziness  is  the  mother  of 
vice,  and  work  is  a  virtue.  Is  it  not  so,  Don 
Gabriel  ?  " 

The  shoemaker  looked  at  the  master,  watching  for 
his  words  as  a  thirsty  man  looks  for  water. 

"  Work,"  said  Gabriel,  "is  neither  a  punishment  nor 
a  virtue ;  it  is  a  hard  law  to  which  we  have  to  submit 
for  self-preservation  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  species. 
Without  work  life  could  not  exist." 

And  with  the  same  fervid  enunciation  with  which  he 
had  in  former  times  swayed  the  multitude  at  those 
meetings  of  protest  against  society,  he  explained  to  this 
half-dozen  men  and  the  quiet  sewer,  who  stopped  her 
machine  to  listen,  the  greatness  of  universal  work, 
which  every  day  laboured  on  the  earth,  to  subdue  it 
and  force  it  to  yield  sustenance  for  man. 

It  was  a  struggle  the  whole  twenty-four  hours  against 
the  blind  forces  of  Nature.  The  army  of  work  extended 
over  the  whole  globe,  exploring  the  continents,  leaping 
to  the  islands,  sailing  the  seas,  and  descending  to  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  How  many  were  its  soldiers  ? 
No  one  could  count  them — millions  and  millions.  At 
daybreak  no  one  was  absent  from  the  roll-call ;  the 
casualties  were   replaced,  the   gaps  that    poverty  and 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  169 

misfortune  opened  in  the  ranks  were  filled  up  imme- 
diately. As  soon  as  the  sun  rose  the  factory  chimney 
began  to  smoke,  the  hammer  broke  the  stone,  the  file 
bit  the  metal,  the  plough  furrowed  the  earth,  the  ovens 
were  lighted,  the  pump  worked  its  piston,  the  hatchet 
sounded  in  the  wood,  the  locomotive  moved  amidst 
clouds  of  vapour,  the  cranes  groaned  on  the  wharves, 
the  steamers  cut  the  waters,  and  the  little  barks  danced 
on  the  waves  dragging  their  nets.  None  were  absent 
from,  work's  review.  All  hurried  on,  driven  by  the  fear 
of  hunger,  defying  danger,  not  knowing  if  they  would 
live  till  night,  or  if  the  sun  rising  over  their  heads 
would  be  the  last  in  their  lives.  And  that  daily  con- 
centration of  human  energies  began  with  the  first  light 
of  day  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  wherever  men  had 
assembled  and  built  towns  and  constituted  societies, 
or  even  in  the  deserts  to  be  reclaimed  by  their 
energies. 

The  stonemason  breaks  the  stone  with  his  hammer, 
and  at  every  breath  is  poisoned  by  inhaling  the  invisible 
particles.  The  miner  descends  to  the  hell  of  modern 
times  with  no  other  guide  than  the  glimmer  from  his 
lamp,  to  wrest  from  the  strata  of  the  earliest  ages  relics 
of  the  earth's  infancy,  those  carbonised  trees  that  gave 
shade  to  prehistoric  animals.  Far  from  the  sun  and  far 
from  life,  he  defies  death,  just  as  the  mason,  poised  on 
a  slight  scaffolding  despises  giddiness,  watched  only  by 
the  birds,  surprised  to  see  a  creature  without  wings 
perched  on  such  a  dizzy  height. 

The  workman  in  the  factory,  changed  by  a  fatal  and 
mistaken  progress  into  a  slave  of  machinery,  lives 
fastened  to  it  like  another  wheel,  a  spring  of  human 
flesh,  struggling  with  his  physical  weariness  against  the 
iron  muscles  that  never  tire  ;  brutalised  daily  by  the 
deafening  cadence  of  pistons  and  wheels  to  give  us  the 


170  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

innumerable  products  of  industry  rendered  necessary  by 
the  life  of  civilisation. 

And  these  millions  and  millions  of  men  who  support 
the  existence  of  society,  who  fight  for  it  against  the 
blind  and  cruel  forces  of  Nature,  who  every  morning 
return  to  the  struggle,  seeing  in  this  monotonous  and 
continual  sacrifice  the  sole  aim  of  their  existence,  form 
the  immense  family  of  wage-earners,  living  on  the  sur- 
plus of  a  privileged  minority,  contenting  themselves  to 
subsist  on  the  smallest  part  of  what  these  reject,  sub- 
mitting to  a  wretched  remuneration,  always  the  lowest, 
without  hope  of  saving  or  of  emancipation. 

"  It  is  this  egotistical  minority,"  said  Gabriel,  having 
arrived  at  this  point,  "  who  have  falsified  truth, 
endeavouring  to  persuade  the  majority  of  workers  that 
work  is  a  virtue,  and  that  the  only  mission  of  man  on 
earth  is  to  work  till  he  perishes.  This  code,  invented 
by  the  great  capitalists,  misquotes  science,  declaring 
that  people  can  only  live  healthily  who  devote  them- 
selves to  work,  and  that  all  inaction  is  fatal,  but  is 
silent  as  to  what  science  adds — that  excessive  work 
destroys  men  with  far  greater  rapidity  than  if  they  were 
living  in  idleness.  They  say  that  work  is  a  painful 
necessity  for  the  preservation  of  life,  but  they  do  not 
say  it  is  a  virtue,  because  repose  and  sweet  inaction  are 
far  more  grateful  to  men  and  to  all  animals  than  exertion 
and  fatigue.  The  fable  of  Paradise,  the  story  of  the 
Biblical  God  imposing  the  sweat  of  labour  as  a  punish- 
ment in  order  to  earn  subsistence,  shows  that  in  all 
times  the  natural  temperament  of  man  considered  rest 
as  the  pleasantest  condition,  and  that  work  must  be 
considered  as  an  evil  indispensable  to  life,  but  all  the 
same  an  evil.  Ruled  by  the  instinct  of  preservation, 
man  ought  only  to  work  just  as  much  as  is  necessary  for 
food.     But  as  the   immense  majority  do  not  work  for 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  171 

themselves  alone,  but  for  the  profits  of  a  minority  of 
employers,  these  require  that  a  man  should  work  as 
much  as  he  is  able,  even  if  he  dies  from  his  over-exertion, 
and  in  this  way  they  become  rich,  hoarding  the  surplus 
from  production.  Their  contention  is  that  a  man 
should  work  more  than  is  required  for  himself,  that  he 
should  produce  more  than  is  required  for  his  own 
necessities.  In  this  surplus  lies  their  wealth,  and  to 
obtain  it  they  have  invented  a  monstrous  and  inhuman 
morality,  that  by  means  of  religion  and  even  of  philo- 
sophy, glorifies  work,  saying  that  work  is  the  greatest  of 
all  virtues  and  idleness  the  source  of  all  vices.  And 
this  makes  me  ask,  if  idleness  is  a  vice  in  the  poor,  how 
is  it  that  among  the  rich  it  is  counted  as  a  sign  of  dis- 
tinction and  even  of  elevation  of  mind  ?  And  if  work  is 
the  greatest  of  all  virtues,  how  is  it  that  capitalists 
endeavour  to  amass  wealth  in  order  to  free  themselves 
and  their  descendants  from  the  practice  of  so  great  a 
virtue  ?  Why  is  it  that  this  society  which  exalts  work 
with  every  sort  of  poetical  conception  relegates  the 
worker  to  the  lowest  rank  ?  Why  do  they  receive  with 
greater  enthusiasm  a  soldier  who  has  fought,  more  or 
less,  than  an  aged  workman  who  has  spent  seventy 
years  working  without  any  one  praising  him  or  being 
grateful  to  him  for  so  much  virtue  ?  " 

The  servants  of  the  Cathedral  nodded  their  heads, 
assenting  to  what  fell  from  the  master ;  they  looked  up 
to  him  as  simple  people  always  look  up  to  those  who 
come  down  to  them  as  apostles  of  a  new  idea. 

The  continual  friction  with  Gabriel  had  caused  to 
germinate  in  their  minds,  stunted  by  the  traditional 
atmosphere,  a  growth  of  ideas,  like  the  microscopic 
mosses  the  winter  rains  had  formed  on  the  granite 
buttresses  of  the  church.  Hitherto  they  had  lived 
resigned  to  the  life  that  surrounded  them,  moving  like 


172  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

somnambulists  on  the  undecided  boundary  which 
separates  soul  from  instinct,  but  the  unexpected 
presence  of  that  fugitive  from  social  battles  was  the 
impulse  that  launched  them  into  full  thought,  walking 
tentatively  and  with  no  other  light  than  that  of  their 
master. 

"  You,"  went  on  Gabriel,  "  do  not  suffer  from  the 
slavery  of  work  like  those  who  live  among  modern 
factories.  The  Church  does  not  require  great  exertions 
from  you,  and  the  service  of  God  does  not  destroy  you 
from  over-fatigue,  though  it  kills  you  with  hunger. 
There  exists  a  monstrous  inequality  between  the  salaries 
of  those  down  below  who  sit  in  the  choir  and  sing  and 
what  you  earn,  who  lend  to  worship  all  the  strength  of 
your  arms.  You  will  not  die  of  fatigue,  it  is  true ;  many 
a  workman  in  the  towns  would  laugh  at  the  lightness  of 
your  duties  ;  but  you  languish  from  poverty.  1  see  in 
this  cloister  the  same  anaemic  children  that  I  saw  in 
workmen's  slums,  I  see  what  you  eat  and  what  you  are 
paid.  The  Church  pays  its  servants  as  in  the  days  of 
faith  ;  she  believes  that  we  still  live  in  the  times  when 
whole  towns  would  throw  themselves  into  the  work 
with  the  hope  of  gaining  heaven,  and  would  help  to 
raise  cathedrals  without  any  more  positive  recompense 
than  the  workman's  stew  and  the  blessing  of  the  bishop  ; 
and  all  this  while,  you,  beings  of  flesh  who  require 
nourishment,  deceive  your  stomachs  and  those  of  your 
wives  and  children  with  potatoes  and  bread,  while  down 
below  those  wooden  images  are  covered  with  pearls  and 
gold  in  senseless  profusion,  and  without  its  ever  occurring 
to  you  to  ask  yourselves  why  the  idols  who  have  no  wants 
should  be  so  rich,  while  you  are  unable  to  satisfy  your 
own  and  live  in  misery." 

The  listeners  looked  at  each  other  in  astonishment, 
as  though  these  words  were  an  illuminating  flash.  They 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  173 

were  doubtful  for  a  moment  as  though  frightened,  and 
then  the  faith  of  conviction  illuminated  their  faces. 

"  It  is  true,"  said  the  bell-ringer  in  a  gloomy 
tone. 

"  It  is  true,"  repeated  the  shoemaker,  throwing  into 
his  words  all  the  bitterness  of  his  grinding  life  of 
poverty,  with  a  constantly  increasing  family,  and  with 
no  other  help  but  his  inadequate  work. 

Sagrario  remained  silent.  She  did  not  understand 
many  of  her  uncle's  sayings,  but  she  received  them  all 
as  gospel  coming  from  him,  and  they  sounded  in  her 
ears  like  delicious  music. 

Gabriel's  reputation  spread  among  the  humble  inhabi- 
tants of  the  church,  and  all  the  servants  of  the  Primacy 
gossiped  about  his  wisdom.  The  clergy  took  notice  of 
him,  and  more  than  once  on  rainy  evenings  the  canon 
librarian,  taking  his  walk  in  the  cloisters,  tried  to  make 
Gabriel  talk ;  but  the  fugitive,  with  a  remnant  of  prudence, 
showed  himself  towards  the  cassocks,  as  they  them- 
selves said,  coldly  courteous  and  reserved,  fearing  that 
they  would  expel  him  if  they  became  acquainted  with  his 
views. 

Only  one  priest  of  all  those  he  saw  in  the  upper 
cloister  had  inspired  him  with  any  confidence.  This 
was  a  young  man  of  wretched  appearance,  with  worn- 
out  clothes,  a  chaplain  of  one  of  the  innumerable 
convents  of  nuns  in  Toledo.  He  received  seven  duros  a 
month,  which  were  all  his  means  of  supporting  himself 
and  his  old  mother,  a  common  peasant  woman,  who  had 
denied  herself  bread  in  order  to  give  an  education  to  her 
son. 

"  You  see,  Gabriel,"  said  the  priest.  "  You  see  how 
it  is — such  a  great  sacrifice  to  earn  less  than  a  common 
labourer  earns  in  my  village.  Why  did  they  ordain  me 
with  §9   much   ceremony  ?     Was   it   for    this    I    sang 


174  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

mass  in  the  midst  of  so  much  pomp,  as  though  in 
wedding  the  Church  I  were  uniting  myself  to  wealth." 

His  poverty  made  him  the  slave  of  Don  Antolin,  and 
in  the  last  third  of  the  month  he  came  almost  every 
day  to  the  cloister,  trying  to  soften  Silver  Stick  with  his 
prayers  and  induce  him  to  lend  a  few  pesetas.  He  even 
flattered  Mariquita,  who  could  not  show  herself  shy 
with  him,  in  spite  of  his  cassock. 

"  He  has  a  very  good  appearance,"  she  said  to  the 
women  of  the  Claverias  with  the  enthusiasm  inspired  by 
every  man.  "  I  like  to  see  him  by  the  side  of  Don  Gabriel 
and  to  hear  them  talk  as  they  walk  in  the  cloister. 
They  look  like  two  great  noblemen.  His  mother  called 
him  Martin,  no  doubt  because  he  resembled  the  Saint 
Martin  by  that  painter  they  call  El  Greco,  that  hangs 
in  some  parish  church,  but  I  forget  which." 

To  cajole  Don  Antolin  was  a  far  more  arduous  task, 
and  the  poor  little  curate  suffered  much  in  his  endeavours 
to  propitiate  the  miser,  who  was  irritated  if  his  miser- 
able loans  were  not  repaid  at  the  proper  time.  Silver 
Stick  with  his  love  of  authority  was  delighted  to  hold  a 
priest  and  an  equal  under  his  thumb,  so  that  those  in  the 
Claverias  should  see  that  he  did  not  order  about  the  small 
fry  only.  Don  Martin  was  for  him  only  a  servant  in  a 
cassock,  and  he  made  him  come  up  to  the  cloister 
nearly  every  evening  on  various  pretexts.  His  delight 
was  to  keep  him  whole  hours  standing  in  front  of  his 
door,  obliged  to  listen  and  to  pay  attention  to  all  his 
words. 

Gabriel  felt  pity  for  the  moral  dependency  in  which 
the  poor  young  man  lived,  and  he  would  often  leave  his 
niece,  going  out  into  the  cloister  to  join  them.  His  other 
friends  were  not  long  in  discovering  him  ;  first  of  all  the 
bell-ringer,  then  the  organ-blower,  and  presently  the 
verger,  the  Perrero,  and  the  shoemaker  would  join  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  175 

group,  of  which  Silver  Stick  was  the  nucleus.  Don 
Antolin  was  delighted  to  see  himself  surrounded  by  so 
many  people,  never  imagining  that  Gabriel  was  the 
attraction,  thinking  always  it  was  his  authority  that 
inspired  fear  and  respect. 

Recognising  equality  with  no  one  but  Luna,  to  him 
only  he  addressed  his  conversation,  as  though  the  others 
had  no  other  duty  but  to  listen  to  him  in  silence ;  if 
anyone  spoke  to  him  he  pretended  not  to  hear,  but 
continued  addressing  Gabriel.  Mariquita,  huddled  up 
in  a  shawl,  followed  them  with  her  eyes  from  the  door, 
sharing  her  uncle's  pride  in  seeing  himself  surrounded  by 
such  a  group,  who  accompanied  him  in  his  stroll  up 
and  down  the  cloister ;  the  proximity  of  so  many  men 
seemed  to  turn  her  head. 

"  Uncle  !  Don  Gabriel !  "  she  called  in  a  coaxing 
voice.  "  Won't  you  come  in  ;  you  will  be  more  comfort- 
able inside  the  house,  because,  even  though  it  is  sunny, 
it  is  very  cold." 

But  the  uncle  paid  no  attention  to  her  words,  and 
continued  his  walk  on  the  side  of  the  cloister  bathed  by 
the  sun,  talking  pompously  on  his  favourite  theme,  the 
present  poverty  of  the  Cathedral  and  its  greatness  in 
former  times. 

"  These  cloisters  in  which  we  are,"  he  said  ;  "  do 
you  believe  that  they  were  built  to  serve  as  a  refuge  to 
the  humble  secular  people  who  now  live  in  them  ?  No, 
senor,  although  the  Church  was  generous,  she  would 
not  have  built  these  '  habitaciones,'  with  their  inner 
courtyards  and  their  colonnades  for  Wooden  Staffs  and 
vergers,  etc.  This  cloister,  which  was  to  have  been  as 
large  and  beautiful  as  the  one  below,  was  begun  by  the 
great  Cardinal  Cisneros  "  (Don  Antohn  raised  his  hand 
to  his  cap)  "  so  that  the  canons  should  live  in  them  sub- 
ject to  conventual  regulations  ;  but  the  canons  in  those 


176  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

days  were  very  rich,  and,  being  great  lords,  would  not 
consent  to  live  shut  up  here  ;  they  all  protested,  and 
the  cardinal,  who  was  very  quick-tempered,  wished  to 
keep  them  in  leading  strings,  but  one  of  them  started  to 
Rome  with  their  complaints,  sent  by  his  comrades. 
Cisneros,  being  governor  of  the  kingdom,  placed  guards 
at  all  the  ports,  and  the  emissary  was  arrested  as  he  was 
going  to  embark  at  Valencia.  The  end  of  it  all  was 
that  after  a  long  suit  the  gentlemen  of  the  Chapter  came 
off  victorious,  and  lived  out  of  the  Primacy,  and  the 
Claverias  remained  unfinished  with  this  low  roof  and 
this  balustrade,  both  provisional.  But  even  as  it  is 
kings  have  lived  in  this  cloister  ;  that  great  monarch, 
Philip  n.,  spent  several  days  here.  What  glorious 
times !  when  the  kings,  who  had  palaces  at  their  com- 
mand, preferred  living  in  these  rooms,  so  as  to  be  inside 
the  Cathedral  and  nearer  to  God.  Such  kings,  such 
people.  For  this  reason  Spain  was  greater  then  than 
ever.  We  were  masters  of  the  world.  We  had  power  and 
money,  and  we  lived  happily  on  earth  in  the  certainty 
of  reaching  heaven  after  death." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  the  bell-ringer ;  "  those  were  the 
good  times,  and  for  their  return  we  fought  in  the  moun- 
tains. Ay  !  if  only  Don  Carlos  had  been  victorious !  if 
only  there  had  not  been  traitors  amongst  us  !  Is  it  not 
true,  Gabriel  ?  You  who  fought  in  the  war  as  I  did, 
you  can  say  if  I  am  not  right." 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  Mariano,"  said  Gabriel,  smiling 
sadly.  "  You  do  not  know  what  you  are  saying.  You 
fought  and  shed  your  blood  for  a  cause  that  even  now 
you  do  not  understand.  You  went  to  the  war  as  blindly 
as  I  did.  Do  not  look  so  sullen  ;  it  is  no  use  contradicting. 
Well  then,  let  us  see,  what  did  you  wish  for  when  you 
went  out  to  fight  for  Don  Carlos  ?  " 

"  I  ?  First  of  all  that  every  man  should  come  by  his 


THE    SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL  177 

own.  Did  not  the  crown  belong  to  his  family  ?  Well, 
let  it  be  given  to  him." 

**  And  is  this  all  ?  "  asked  Luna  with  displeasure. 

"That  was  the  least  of  it.  What  I  wanted,  and  do 
want,  is  that  the  nation  should  have  a  good  master, 
an  upright  lord,  and  a  good  Catholic,  who  without 
restraints  of  laws  or  Cortes,  should  govern  us  all  with 
bread  in  one  hand  and  a  stick  in  the  other.  For  the 
robber,  garrote  him  !  for  the  honoured,  *  you  are  my 
friend  !  •'  A  king  who  will  not  allow  the  rich  to  crush 
the  poor,  and  who  will  not  allow  any  one  to  die  of 
hunger  who  wishes  to  work.  Come,  I  think  I  am 
explaining  myself  clearly." 

*'  And  all  this,  do  you  believe  that  it  existed  at  any 
time,  or  that  your  king  would  be  able  to  restore  it  ? 
Those  centuries  that  you  describe  as  those  of  greatness 
and  well-being  were  really  the  worst  in  our  history  ; 
they  were  the  cause  of  Spanish  decadence,  and  the 
beginning  of  all  our  ills." 

"  Stop  there,  Gabrielillo,"  said  Silver  Stick.  "  You 
know  a  great  deal,  and  have  travelled  and  read  much 
more  than  I  have,  but  we  cannot  swallow  that.  I  am 
very  much  interested  in  the  question,  and  I  will  not 
allow  you  to  take  advantage  of  the  ignorance  of  Mariano 
and  these  others  ?  How  can  you  say  that  those  times 
were  evil,  and  that  the  fault  is  theirs  of  what  is  happen- 
ing to  us  now?  The  true  culprit  is  liberalism,  the 
unbelief  of  the  age,  which  has  let  the  devil  loose  in  our 
house.  Spain,  when  it  does  not  trust  its  kings  and  has 
no  faith  in  Catholicism,  is  like  a  lame  man  who  drops 
his  crutches  and  falls  to  the  ground.  We  are  nothing 
without  the  throne  and  the  altar,  and  the  proof  of  this 
is  everything  that  has  happened  to  us  since  we  had 
revolutions.  We  have  lost  our  islands,  we  count  for 
nothing  among  the  other  countries.     The  Spaniards, 

c.  N 


178  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

who  are  the  bravest  men  in  the  world,  have  been  de- 
feated, there  is  not  a  peseta  anywhere,  and  all  those 
gentlemen  who  haranj^ue  in  Madrid  vote  fresh  taxes 
and  we  are  always  involved  in  difficulties.  When  was 
this  ever  seen  in  former  times  ?     When  ?  " 

"Worse  and  more  shameful  things  were  seen,"  said 
Luna. 

"  You  are  mad,  youngster  !  Those  travels  have  cor- 
rupted you,  till  I  believe  you  are  hardly  a  Spaniard  ! 
Look  you,  that  he  denies  what  everybody  knows,  what 
is  taught  in  all  the  schools  !  And  the  Catholic  kings ; 
were  they  nothing  ?  You  need  no  books  to  know  that. 
Go  into  the  choir,  and  you  will  see  on  the  lower  stalls 
all  the  battles  that  those  religious  kings  gained  over 
the  Moors  with  the  help  of  God.  They  conquered 
Granada  and  drove  out  the  infidels  who  had  held  it 
seven  centuries  in  barbarism.  Afterwards  came  the 
discovery  of  America.  Who  could  accomplish  that  ?  No 
one  but  ourselves ;  and  that  good  queen  who  pawned 
her  jewels  so  that  Columbus  should  accomplish  his 
voyage.  You  cannot  deny  all  this,  it  seems  to  me.  And 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  !  What  have  you  to  say 
about  him  ?  Do  you  know  any  more  extraordinary 
man  !  He  fought  all  the  kings  of  Europe,  and  half  the 
world  was  his,  '  the  sun  never  set  on  his  dominions,'  we 
Spaniards  were  masters  of  the  world  ;  you  cannot  either 
deny  this.  And  still  we  have  said  nothing  of  Don 
Philip  IL,  a  king  so  wise  and  so  astute  that  he 
made  all  the  monarchs  of  Europe  dance  at  his 
pleasure,  as  though  he  were  pulling  them  with  a  string. 
Everything  was  for  the  greater  glory  of  Spain  and  the 
splendour  of  religion.  Of  his  victories  and  greatness 
we  have  said  nothing ;  if  his  father  was  victorious  at 
Pavia,  he  overturned  his  enemies  at  St.  Quintin.  And 
what   do    you    say   about    Lepanto  ?     Down    in    the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  179 

sacristy  we  preserve  the  banners  of  the  ship  that  Don 
Juan  of  Austria  commanded.    You  have  seen  them  ;  one 
of  them  represents  Jesus  crucified,  and  they  are  so  long, 
so  very  long,  that  when  they  were  fastened  to  the  tri- 
forium,  the  ends  had  to  be  turned   up   so   that   they 
should   not   trail  on    the   ground.     So,   was    Lepanto 
nothing  ?     Come,  Gabriel,  you  really  must  be  mad  to 
den\'  certain  things.     If  someone  had  to  conquer  the 
Moors  lest  they  should  possess  themselves  of  all  Europe 
and  endanger  the   Christian  faith,  who  did    it  ?     The 
Spaniards.     When   the   Turks   threatened  to    become 
masters   of  the  seas,  who   went   out  to    meet    them? 
Spain  and  her  Don  Juan.     And  who  went  to  discover  a 
new  world  but  the    ships  of  Spain  ;    and  who  sailed 
round  the  world  but  another  Spaniard,    Magallanes ; 
and  for  everything  great  it  has  always  been  us,  always 
us,  in  those  days  of  religion  and  prosperity.     And  what 
can  we  say  about  learning  ?     Those  centuries  produced 
Spain's  most  famous  men — great  poets  and  most  eminent 
theologians ;  no  one  has  equalled  them  since.     And  to 
show  that  religion  is  the  source  of  all  greatness,  the 
most  illustrious  writers  have  worn  the  religious  habit. 
I   guess  what  will  be  your  argument,  that  after  such 
glorious  kings  came  others  less  distinguished,  and  so 
the  decadence  commenced.     I  know  something  about 
that  also.     I  have  heard  the  librarian  of  the  Cathedral 
and  other  people  of  great  learning  say  this.     But  this 
really  means  nothing.    These  are  the  designs  of  God,  by 
which  He  puts  His  people  to  the  proof,  just  as  He  does 
with  individuals,  bringing  them  down  to  low  estate,  to 
raise  them  again  to  great  honour,  so  that  they  may 
continue  in  the  right  way.     But  we  will  not  speak  of 
this ;  if  there  has  been  a  decadence  we  do  not  want  to 
know  anything  about  it.    We  want  the  glorious  past,  the 
brilliant  times  of  the  Catholic  kings,  of  Don  Carlos  and 

N    2 


iSoTHE   SHADOW   OF  THE   CATHEDRAL 

the  two  Philips,  and  it  is  on  them  that  we  fix  our  eyes 
when  we  talk  of  Spain  returning  to  her  good  old  times." 

"But  those  centuries,  Don  Antolin,"  said  Gabriel 
calmly,  "  were  those  of  Spanish  decadence ;  in  them 
was  begun  our  ruin.  I  am  not  surprised  at  your  anger; 
you  repeat  what  you  have  been  taught.  There  are 
people  here  of  the  highest  education  who  are  not  less 
irritated  if  you  touch  what  they  call  their  golden  age. 
The  fault  is  in  the  education  that  is  given  in  this 
country.  All  history  is  a  lie,  and  to  know  it  so  mis- 
represented it  would  be  far  better  not  to  know  it  at  all. 
In  the  schools  the  past  of  the  country  is  taught  from 
the  point  of  view  of  a  savage,  who  appreciates  a  thing 
because  it  shines  and  not  because  of  its  worth  or 
utility.  Spain  was  great,  and  was  on  the  high  road  to 
become  the  first  nation  in  the  world,  by  solid  and 
positive  merits  that  the  hazards  of  war  or  policy  could 
not  have  destroyed  ;  but  that  was  before  the  centuries 
that  you  praise,  before  the  times  of  the  foreign  kings : 
in  the  Middle  Ages  which  held  great  hopes,  which  have 
vanished  since  the  consolidation  of  national  unity. 
Our  Middle  Ages  produced  a  cultivated,  industrious 
and  civilised  people  like  none  other  in  the  world  ;  they 
had  in  them  the  materials  for  the  building  of  a  great 
nation ;  but  foreign  architects  came  in  who  hastily  ran 
up  this  edifice ;  those  first  few  years  of  existence  that 
astound  you  with  the  splendour  of  novelty,  and  among 
whose  ruins  we  are  still  groping." 

Gabriel  forgot  all  his  prudence  in  the  ardour  of 
discussion.  He  felt  no  fear  of  Silver  Stick,  with  his 
manner  of  an  inquisitor  incapable  of  reasoning.  He 
wished  to  convince  him  ;  he  felt  all  the  fervour,  all  the 
irresistible  impulse  of  his  proselytising  days,  without 
trying  in  any  way  to  disguise  his  feelings  from  considera- 
tion of  the  atmosphere  surrounding  him.     Don  Antolin 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  i8i 

listened  to  him  in  astonishment,  fixing  on  him  his  cold 
glance.  The  others  listened,  feeling  confusedly  the 
marvel  that  such  ideas  should  be  enunciated  in  the 
cloister  of  a  cathedral.  Don  Martin,  the  chaplain  of 
the  nuns,  who  stood  behind  his  miserly  protector, 
showed  in  his  eyes  the  eager  sympathy  with  which  he 
heard  Luna's  words. 

He  described  the  Hispano-Roman  people  over  whom 
the  Gothic  invasion  swept,  without,  however,  causing 
a  gap,  because  before  long  the  conquerors  had 
succumbed  to  the  lower  Latin  degeneration,  remaining 
without  strength,  spending  themselves  in  theological 
struggles  and  dynastic  intrigues  like  those  of  Byzantium. 
The  regeneration  of  Spain  did  not  come  from  the  north 
with  the  hordes  of  barbarians,  but  from  the  south  with 
the  invading  Arabs.  At  first  they  were  few,  but  they 
were  sufficient  to  conquer  Roderick  and  his  corrupt 
courtiers.  The  instinct  of  the  Christian  nationality 
revolting  against  the  invaders,  and  the  gathering  together 
of  the  whole  soul  of  Spain  on  the  rocky  heights  of 
Covadonga  to  fall  once  more  upon  their  conquerors,  was 
all  a  lie.  The  Spain  of  those  days  gratefully  welcomed 
the  people  from  Africa  and  submitted  without  resistance. 
A  squadron  of  Arab  horsemen  was  sufficient  to  make  a 
town  open  its  gates.  It  was  a  civilising  expedition 
more  than  a  conquest,  and  a  continual  current  of 
immigration  was  established  over  the  Straits.  Over  them 
came  that  young  and  vigorous  culture,  of  such  rapid 
and  astonishing  growth,  which  seemed  to  conquer 
though  it  was  scarcely  born  :  that  civilisation  created 
by  the  religious  enthusiasm  of  the  Prophet,  who  had 
assimilated  all  that  was  best  in  Judaism  and  in 
Byzantine  civilisation,  carrying  along  with  it  also  the 
great  Indian  traditions,  fragments  from  Persia  and 
much    from    mysterious   China.      It    was    the    Orient 


i82  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

entering  into  Europe,  not  as  the  Assyrian  monarchs 
into  Greece,  which  repelled  them  seeing  her  liberties  in 
danger,  but  the  exact  opposite,  into  Spain,  the  slave  of 
theological  kings  and  warlike  bishops,  which  received 
the  invaders  with  open  arms.  In  two  years  they  became 
masters  of  what  it  took  seven  centuries  to  dispossess 
them.  It  was  not  an  invasion  contested  by  arms,  but 
a  youthful  civilisation  that  threw  out  roots  in  every 
part.  The  principle  of  religious  liberty  which  cements 
all  great  nationalities  came  in  with  them,  and  in  the 
conquered  towns  they  accepted  the  Church  of  the 
Christians  and  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews.  The  Mosque 
did  not  fear  the  temples  it  found  in  the  country,  it 
respected  them,  placing  itself  among  them  without 
jealousy  or  desire  of  domination.  From  the  eighth  to  the 
fifteenth  century  the  most  elevated  and  opulent  civilisa- 
tion of  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe  was  formed  and 
flourished.  While  the  people  of  the  north  were  deci- 
mating each  other  in  religious  wars,  and  living  in  tribal 
barbarity,  the  population  of  Spain  rose  to  thirty 
millions,  gathering  to  herself  all  races  and  all  beliefs 
in  infinite  variety,  like  the  modern  American  people. 
Christians  and  Mussulmen,  pure  Arabs,  Syrians, 
Egyptians,  Jews  of  Spanish  extraction,  and  Jews  from 
the  East  all  lived  peaceably  together,  hence  the  various 
crossings  and  mixtures  of  Muzarabes,  Mudejares, 
Muladies  and  Hebrews.  In  this  prolific  amalgamation 
of  peoples  and  races  all  the  habits,  ideas,  and  discoveries 
known  up  to  then  in  the  world  met ;  all  the  arts, 
sciences,  industries,  inventions  and  culture  of  the  old 
civilisations  budded  out  into  fresh  discoveries  of  creative 
energy.  Silk,  cotton,  coffee,  oranges,  lemons,  pome- 
granates, sugar,  came  with  them  from  the  East,  as  also 
carpets,  silk  tissues,  gauzes,  damascene  work  and  gun- 
powder.    With  them  also  came  the  decimal  numeration, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  183 

algebra,  alchemy,  chemistry,  medicine,  cosmology  and 
rhymed  poetry.  The  Greek  philosophers,  who  were 
nearly  vanishing  into  oblivion,  saved  themselves  by 
following  the  footsteps  of  the  Arab  conquerors.  Aristotle 
reigned  in  the  university  of  Cordoba.  That  spirit  of 
chivalry  arose  among  the  Spanish  Arabs,  which  has 
since  been  appropriated  by  the  warriors  of  the  north,  as 
though  it  were  a  special  quality  belonging  to  Christian 
people.  While  in  the  barbarous  Europe  of  the  Franks, 
the  Anglo-Normans,  and  the  Germans,  the  people  lived 
in  hovels,  and  the  kings  and  barons  in  rocky  castles 
blackened  by  the  smoke  of  their  fires,  devoured  by 
vermin,  dressed  in  coarse  serge,  and  fed  like  prehistoric 
man,  the  Spanish  Arabs  were  raising  their  fantastic 
Alcazars,  and,  with  the  refinement  of  ancient  Rome, 
they  met  at  their  baths  to  converse  on  all  literary  and 
scientific  questions.  If  any  monk  from  the  north  felt 
the  hunger  of  learning,  he  came  to  the  Arab  universities 
or  the  Jewish  synagogues  of  Spain,  and  the  kings  of 
Europe  thought  they  would  be  cured  of  their  infirmities 
if,  by  dint  of  golden  bribes,  they  could  procure  a  Spanish 
physician. 

When  little  by  little  the  aboriginal  element  separated 
itself  from  the  invaders  and  small  Christian  nationalities 
arose,  the  Arabs  and  the  old  Spaniards  (if  indeed  after 
the  constant  mingling  of  blood  there  was  any  difference 
between  the  two  races)  fought  chivalrously  without 
exterminating  each  other  after  the  battles,  mutually 
respecting  one  another,  with  long  intervals  of  peace,  as 
though  they  washed  to  retard  the  moment  of  final 
separation,  and  often  joining  in  various  enterprises. 

A  system  of  liberty  ruled  in  most  of  the  Christian 
States.  The  Cortes  arose  much  earlier  than  in  the  other 
western  countries  of  Europe,  and  the  Spanish  people 
governed   and    regulated    their    expenses   themselves, 


184THE   SHADOW   OF  THE   CATHEDRAL 

seeing  only  in  their  king  a  military  chief.  The  munici- 
palities were  little  republics  with  their  own  elected 
magistrates.  The  town  militia  realised  the  ideal  of  a 
democratic  army.  The  Church  at  one  with  the  people 
lived  peacefully  with  the  other  religions  in  the  country  ; 
an  intelligent  bourgeoisie  created  large  industries  in  the 
interior,  and  fitted  out  the  first  navy  of  the  times  at 
their  own  cost,  and  Spanish  products  were  more  sought 
after  than  any  other  in  all  the  ports  of  Europe.  There 
were  towns  then  as  populous  as  any  of  the  modern 
capitals ;  whole  populations  devoted  themselves  to 
weaving  different  kinds  of  stuffs,  and  everything  was 
cultivated  on  the  soil  of  the  Peninsula. 

The  Catholic  kings  marked  the  apogee  of  national 
strength,  but  it  was  the  beginning  also  of  its  decadence. 
Their  reign  was  great  because  the  flow  of  energy  begun 
in  the  Middle  Ages  lasted  till  their  times  ;  but  it  was 
execrable,  because  their  tortuous  policy  turned  Spain 
from  the  right  way,  rousing  in  us  religious  fanaticism 
and  the  ambition  of  universal  empire.  Two  or  three 
centuries  ahead  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  Spain  was  for 
the  world  of  those  days  what  England  is  for  our  own 
times.  If  we  had  followed  the  same  policy  of  religious 
toleration,  of  fusion  of  races,  of  industrial  and  agricul- 
tural work  in  preference  to  military  enterprises,  where 
should  we  not  be  now  ? 

Gabriel  asked  this  question,  interrupting  his  ardent 
description  of  the  past. 

"  The  Renaissance,"  continued  Luna,  "  was  more 
Spanish  than  Italian.  In  Italy  the  literature  of  anti- 
quity, and  Greco-Roman  art  revived,  but  the  Renais- 
sance was  not  entirely  literary.  The  Renaissance 
represents  the  springing  into  life  of  a  new  and  culti- 
vated society,  with  arts  and  manufactures,  armies  and 
scientific  knowledge,  etc.     And  who  accomplished  this 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  185 

but  Spain,  that  Arab-Hebrew-Christian  Spain  of  the 
CathoHc  kings  ?  The  Gran  Capitan  taught  the  world 
the  art  of  modern  warfare  ;  Pedro  Navarro  was  a 
wonderful  engineer  ;  the  Spanish  troops  were  the  first 
to  use  firearms,  and  they  created  also  the  infantry, 
making  war  democratic,  as  it  gave  the  people  the 
superiority  over  the  noble  horsemen  clad  in  armour  ; 
finally,  it  was  Spain  who  discovered  America." 

"And  does  all  this  seem  little  to  you?  "  interrupted 
Don  Antolin.  "  Do  you  not  exactly  agree  with  what  I 
said  ?  We  have  never  seen  so  much  power  and  great- 
ness united  in  Spain  as  in  the  times  of  those  kings,  who 
with  reason  some  call  the  Catholics." 

**  I  agree  that  it  was  a  grand  period  of  our  history ; 
the  last  that  was  really  glorious,  the  last  gleam  that 
flashed  before  that  Spain,  who  alone  walked  in  the 
right  way,  was  extinguished.  But  before  their  deaths 
the  CathoHc  kings  commenced  the  decadence  by 
dismembering  that  strong  and  healthy  Spain  of  the 
Arabs,  the  Christians  and  the  Jews.  You  are  right, 
Don  Antolin,  to  say  that  those  kings  are  not  called  the 
Catholics  for  nothing.  Doiia  Isabel  with  her  feminine 
fanaticism  established  the  Inquisition,  so  science  extin- 
guished her  lamp  in  the  mosques  and  synagogues, 
and  hid  her  books  in  Christian  convents.  Seeing  that 
the  hour  for  praying,  instead  of  reading,  had  come, 
Spanish  thought  took  refuge  in  darkness,  trembling 
in  cold  and  solitude,  and  ended  by  dying.  What 
remained  devoted  itself  to  poetry,  to  comedies  and 
theological  tracts.  Science  became  a  pathway  that 
led  to  the  bonfire  ;  and  then  came  a  fresh  calamity, 
the  expulsion  of  the  Spanish  Jews,  so  saturated  with 
the  spirit  of  this  country,  loving  it  so  dearly,  that 
even  to-day,  after  four  centuries,  scattered  on  the 
shores    of  the   Danube  or  the    Bosphorus    there   are 


I86THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

Spanish  Jews  who  weep,  Hke  old  CastilHans,  for  their 
lost  country : 

'  Pcrdimos  la  bella  Sion  ; 
Perdimos  tambien  Espana 
Nido  de  consolacion.^ ' 

"  That  people  who  had  given  Maimonides  to  the 
science  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  who  were  the  mainstay 
of  all  the  industries  and  commerce  of  Spain,  left  our 
country  en  masse.  Spain,  deceived  by  its  extraordinary 
vitality  was  opening  its  own  veins  to  satisfy  the  growing 
fanaticism,  believing  that  it  could  survive  this  loss  with- 
out danger.  Afterwards  came  what  a  modern  writer 
has  called  '  the  foreign  body,'  interposing  itself  in  our 
national  life — those  Austrians  who  came  to  reign  and 
caused  Spain  to  lose  her  distinctive  character." 

"  Gabriel,"  interrupted  the  priest,  '*  you  are  talking 
absurdities.  The  true  Spain  began  with  the  emperor, 
and  went  on  equally  gloriously  under  Don  Philip  II. 
This  is  the  pure  and  uncorrupted  Spain  that  we  ought 
to  take  as  an  example,  and  which  we  hope  to  restore." 

"  No.  The  pure  and  uncorrupted  Spain,  the  Spanish 
Spain  without  foreign  admixture,  is  that  of  the  Arabs, 
Moors  and  Jews,  that  of  religious  tolerance,  that  of 
industrial  and  agricultural  wealth,  and  of  free  muni- 
cipalities ;  that  which  perished  under  the  Catholic 
kings.  What  came  after  was  a  Teutonic  and  a  Flemish 
Spain  turned  into  a  German  colony,  serving  as  a  mer- 
cenary under  foreign  standards,  ruining  itself  in  under- 
takings in  which  it  had  no  interest,  shedding  blood  and 
gold  for  the  ambition  of  the  so-called  Holy  Roman 
Empire.  I  can  understand  the  enchantment  that  the 
emperor  exercised  over  the  bigoted  and  ignorant  people 

'  We  lost  our  lovely  Sion  ;  we  also  lost  our  Spain,  that  nest  of 
consolation. 


I 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL  187 

who  worshipped  the    past.      A  great    man   that   Don 
Carlos!      Brave  in  fight,  astute  in  poHtics,  jolly  and 
hearty  as  one  of  the  burgomasters  of  his  own  country ; 
a  great  eater,  a  great  drinker,  and  loving  to  catch  the 
girls  round  the  waist.     But  he  had   nothing  Spanish 
about  him.     He  only  appreciated  his  mother's  heritage 
for  what  he  could  wring  out  of  it.     Spain  became  a 
servant  to  Germany,  ready  to  supply  as  many  men  as 
were  required,  and  to  furnish  loans  and  taxes.     All  the 
exuberant  life  garnered  in  this  country  by  Hispano- 
Arab    culture    was    absorbed    by    the    north    in     less 
than   a  hundred  years.     The  free    municipalities    dis- 
appeared, their  defenders  went  to  the  scaffold  both  in 
Castille   and   Valencia ;    the   Spaniard  abandoned  his 
plough    or  his  weaving  to  range    the    world  with  an 
arquebus  on  his  shoulder,  and  the  town  militias  were 
transformed  into  bands  which  fought  all  over   Europe 
without  knowing  why.     The  flourishing  towns  became 
villages ;    churches   were    turned    into    convents ;    the 
popular  and  tolerant  clergy  were  changed  into  friars 
who  imitated  with  servile  complacency    the  German 
fanaticism.     The   fields    remained  barren  for  want  of 
hands  to  cultivate  them,  the  poor  dreamt  of  becoming 
rich  from  the  sack  of  the  enemy's  towns  and  left  their 
work ;  the  industrious  burghers  abandoned  commerce 
as  only  fit  for  heretics,  and  became  nurseries  of  clerks 
and  petty  magistrates  ;    and   the   armies  of  Spain  as 
unbeaten  and  glorious  as  they  were  ragged,  with  no 
pay  but  pillage  and   in  continual  mutiny  against  their 
chiefs,  flooded  our  country  with  a  swarm  of  wretched 
vagabonds,   from    whence    proceeded    the    bully,    the 
beggar    with    his    blunderbuss,   the  highwayman,   the 
wandering    hermits,    the    starving    nobleman,   and  all 
those    characters    of    which    picturesque  novels  have 
availed  themselves." 


I88THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

"  But,  the  devil,  Gabriel !  "  cried  indignantly  Silver 
Stick ;  "  do  you  deny  that  Don  Carlos,  who  built  the 
Alcaicar  of  Toledo,  and  Don  Philip  H.,  who  lived  in  this 
very  cloister,  were  two  great  kings  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  deny  it ;  they  were  two  extraordinary  men, 
but  they  killed  Spain  for  ever.  They  were  two  foreigners, 
two  Germans;  Philip  H.  clothed  himself  with  a  false 
Spaniardism  to  continue  the  German  policy  of  his 
father.  This  masquerading  caused  us  great  harm, 
because  there  are  many  men  now  who  think  of  him  as 
the  noblest  representation  of  a  Spaniard.  The  absurd 
inventions  and  lapses  from  truth  to  which  those  times 
give  rise  are  enough  to  drive  one  mad.  Many  Catholics 
dream  of  canonising  Philip  H.  for  the  cold  cruelty  with 
which  he  exterminated  heretics,  but  such  a  king  had 
really  no  Catholicism  but  his  own ;  he  was  heir  to  the 
German  Caesarism,  that  eternal  hammer  of  the  Popes. 
Driven  by  pride,  he  was  always  sailing  to  the  windward 
of  schism  and  heresy  ;  that  he  did  not  break  with  the 
Pontificate  was  solely  that  this  latter  feared  that  the 
Spanish  soldiery,  who  had  twice  entered  Rome,  would 
remain  there  for  ever,  and  that  it  would  have  to  submit 
to  all  their  extortions.  The  father  and  son  robbed  us 
with  dissimulation  of  our  nationality,  and  dissipated  our 
life  for  their  purely  personal  plans  of  reviving  the 
Caesarism  of  Charlemagne  and  forming  the  Catholic 
religion  to  their  own  imagination  and  taste.  They 
nearly  destroyed  the  ancient  religious  feeling  of  Spain, 
so  cultivated  and  tolerant  from  its  continual  intercourse 
with  Mahomedanism  and  Judaism;  that  Spanish  Church, 
whose  priests  lived  peacefully  in  the  towns  with  the 
alfaqui  and  the  rabbi,  and  who  punished  with  moral 
penalties  those  who  from  excess  of  zeal  disturbed  the 
worship  of  the  infidels.  That  religious  intolerance 
which   foreign   historians   consider   a   purelv    Spanish 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  189 

product  \vas  really  imported  by  the  German  Caesars.  It 
was  the  German  friar  who  came  with  his  devout 
brutality  and  his  crazy  theology,  not  tempered  as  in 
Spain  by  Semitic  culture.  With  their  intolerance  and 
impracticability  they  provoked  the  revolution  of  the 
Reformation  in  the  northern  countries,  and,  driven  out 
of  them,  they  came  here  to  plant  afresh  their  ignorance 
and  fanaticism.  The  ground  was  well  prepared.  When 
the  free  towns  whose  municipalities  were  republics  fell, 
the  people  also  languished ;  the  foreign  seed  produced 
in  a  short  time  an  immense  forest,  the  forest  of  the 
Inquisition  and  the  fanaticism  which  still  exists;  the 
modern  woodmen  cut  and  lop,  but  they  soon  fall  off 
wearied ;  the  arms  of  one  man  can  do  little  against  a 
trunk  that  has  grown  for  centuries.  Fire,  nothing  but 
fire,  can  exterminate  that  cursed  vegetation." 

Don  Antolin  opened  his  eyes  in  horror.  He  was  not 
angry  now,  he  seemed  quite  thunderstruck  by  Luna's 
words. 

"  Gabriel,  my  son  !  "  he  exclaimed ;  "  you  are 
'greener'  than  I  thought.  Just  think  where  you  are; 
remember  what  you  are  saying.  We  are  in  the  Holy 
Metropolitan  Church  of  all  the  Spains." 

But  Luna  was  fairly  launched  by  the  renewal  of  his 
historical  remembrances  and  he  was  not  to  be  stopped, 
driven  on  as  he  was  by  his  propagandist  zeal.  He  was 
fired  by  the  old  oratorical  fervour,  and  he  spoke  as  at 
those  meetings  when  he  could  scarcely  continue  his 
speech  for  the  applause,  and  the  protests  and  surging  of 
the  multitude  obstructing  the  police. 

The  horror  of  the  priest  only  seemed  to  excite  him 
more. 

"Philip  II.,"  he  continued,  "was  a  foreigner,  a 
German  to  the  very  bones.  His  grave  taciturnity,  his 
slow   and   penetrating   mind,  were   not    Spanish,  they 


igoTHE    SHADOW    OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

were  Flemish.  The  impassibility  with  which  he 
received  the  reverses  which  ruined  the  nation  was  that 
of  a  foreigner  who  was  bound  by  no  ties  of  affection  to 
the  country.  '  It  is  better  to  reign  over  corpses  than 
over  heretics,'  he  said,  and  corpses  the  Spaniards  really 
were,  condemned  not  to  think,  but  to  lie  in  order  to 
conceal  their  thoughts.  All  the  ancient  offices  had  dis- 
appeared. Outside  the  Church  there  was  no  future  for 
any  adventurous  soul,  except  in  America — which  ceased 
to  be  of  any  use  to  the  nation  after  it  became  converted 
into  the  treasure  chest  of  the  king — or  to  be  a  soldier 
fighting  in  Europe  for  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Holy 
German  Empire,  for  the  subjection  of  the  Pope  to  the 
Emperor  or  the  extinction  of  the  reformed  religion, 
undertakings  that  in  no  way  concerned  Spain,  but  were 
all  the  same  very  blood-letting  affairs,  even  for  those 
who  escaped  with  their  lives.  All  the  handicraftsmen 
disappeared,  carried  away  to  the  armies,  and  the  towns 
became  filled  with  invalids  and  veterans,  carrying  their 
rusty  swords,  their  only  proof  of  personal  valour.  All 
the  middle-class  guilds  were  suppressed  ;  there  only 
remained  nobles  proud  of  being  servants  to  the  king 
and  a  populace  who  only  asked  for  bread  and  entertain- 
ments, like  the  Romans,  and  contented  themselves  with 
the  broth  from  the  convents  and  the  burning  of  heretics 
organised  by  the  Inquisition. 

"  After  this,  ruin  overwhelmed  us ;  after  the  great 
Caesars,  so  fatal  to  Spain,  came  the  little  ones — 
Philip  III.,  who  gave  the  final  blow  by  expelling  the 
Moors;  Philip  IV.,  a  degenerate  with  literary  fancies, 
who  wrote  verses  and  courted  nuns,  and  the  miserable 
Charles  II. 

"  Spain  had  never  been  so  religious,  Don  Antolin," 
said  Luna.  "  The  Church  was  mistress  of  every- 
thing; the  ecclesiastical  tribunals  judged  even  the  king 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  191 

himself,  but  secular  justice  could  not  touch  even  the  hem 
of  a  garment  of  the  lowest  sacristan,  even  though  he 
committed  the  greatest  crimes  in  the  public  streets. 
Only  the  Church  could  judge  its  own;  as  Barrioneuva 
relates  in  his  memoirs,  friars  armed  to  the  teeth  wrested 
from  the  king's  justice  at  the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  in 
broad  daylight  in  the  midst  of  the  Plaza  Mayor  in 
Madrid,  one  of  their  own  brothers  condemned  for 
murder.  The  Inquisition,  not  satisfied  with  burning 
heretics,  judged  and  punished  gangs  of  cattle-lifters. 
Men  of  letters,  terrified,  took  refuge  in  ornamental 
literature  as  the  last  refuge  of  thought,  confining  them- 
selves to  the  production  of  witty  novels  or  plays,  in 
which  a  fantastic  honour  was  exalted  which  only 
existed  in  poets'  imagination,  while  the  greatest 
corruption  of  morals  reigned.  The  great  Spanish 
genius  ignored  or  feigned  to  ignore  what  the  religious 
revolution  beyond  the  frontiers  was  saying.  Quevedo 
only,  who  was  the  most  daring,  ventured  to  say : 

'With  the  Inquisition  .... 
Hush  !  Silence  ! ' 

the  sad  epitaph  of  Spanish  thought  which  preferred  to 
perish  as  it  could  not  speak  the  truth.  In  order  to  live 
quietly  and  support  themselves  in  those  days  of  igno- 
rance, many  poets  sought  the  shadow  of  the  Church  and 
wore  its  vestments.  Lope  de  Vega,  Calderon,  Tirsode 
Molina,  Miradamerscua,  Tarriga,  Argensola,  Gongora, 
Rioja,  and  others  were  priests,  many  of  them  after 
stormy  lives.  Montalban  was  a  priest  and  employed  in 
the  Inquisition,  and  even  the  poor  Cervantes,  in  his  old 
age,  had  to  take  the  habit  of  St.  Francis.  Spain  had 
eleven  thousand  convents,  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  friars,  and  forty  thousand  nuns,  and  to  these 
must  be  added  seventy-eight  thousand  priests  and  the 


192  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

innumerable  servitors  and  dependents  of  the  Cliurch, 
such  as  alguaciles,  famihars,  jailors,  and  notaries  of 
the  Inquisition,  sacristans,  stewards,  buleros,^  convent 
door-porters,  choristers,  singers,  lay  brothers,  novices — 
and  I  know  not  how  many  other  people.  In  exchange, 
the  nation  from  a  population  of  thirty  millions  had 
shrunk  to  seven  millions  in  less  than  two  hundred  years. 
The  expulsion  of  Jews  and  Moors  by  religious  intoler- 
ance the  continual  foreign  wars,  the  emigration  to 
America  in  the  hopes  of  growing  rich  without  work, 
hunger,  the  lack  of  sanitation,  and  the  abandonment  of 
agriculture,  had  brought  about  this  rapid  depopulation. 
The  revenues  of  Spain  had  fallen  to  fourteen  million 
ducats,  whereas  the  clerical  revenue  had  risen  to  eight 
millions;  the  Church  possessed  more  than  half  the 
national  fortune  !     What  times  !     Eh,  Don  Antolin  ?  " 

Silver  Stick  listened  coldly,  as  though  he  had  formed 
some  definite  idea  about  Luna,  and  therefore  did  not 
make  much  account  of  his  words. 

"  However  bad  they  were,"  he  said  slowly,  "  they 
could  not  be  worse  than  they  are  at  present.  At  all 
events  no  one  robbed  the  Church.  Everyone  was 
contented  in  his  poverty,  thinking  of  heaven,  which  is 
the  only  truth,  and  the  worship  of  God  which  corre- 
sponds to  it.  Is  it  that  you  possibly  do  not  believe 
in  God  ?" 

Gabriel  avoided  an  answer,  and  went  on  talking  of 
those  times. 

"  It  was  a  period  of  barbarism  and  stagnation, 
and  while  Europe  was  developing  and  progress- 
ing the  people  who  had  been  foremost  in  all  civilisa- 
tion were  now  left  far  behind.  The  kings,  inspired 
by    Spanish    pride    and    the    hereditary    pretensions 

1  Buleros — One  charged  with  distributing  crusading  bulls  and 
collecting  alms  for  them. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  193 

of  the  German  Cassars,  conceived  the  mad  idea  of 
mastering  all  Europe,  with  no  more  support  than  a 
nation  of  seven  million  of  inhabitants,  and  a  (ew 
companies  of  ill-paid  and  starving  soldiers.  The  gold 
from  America  had  gone  to  fill  the  Dutchmen's  purses, 
and  in  this  undertaking,  w^orthy  of  Don  Quixote,  the 
nation  received  blow  after  blow.  Spain  became  more 
and  more  Catholic,  poorer  and  more  barbarous.  She 
aspired  to  conquer  the  whole  world,  yet  in  the  interior 
she  had  whole  provinces  uninhabited  ;  many  of  the  old 
towns  had  disappeared,  the  roads  were  obliterated  and 
no  one  in  Spain  knew  for  certain  the  geography  of  the 
country  though  few  were  ignorant  of  the  situation  of 
heaven  and  of  purgatory.  The  farms  of  any  fertility 
were  not  occupied  by  granges  but  by  convents,  and 
along  the  few  highways  bivouacked  bands  of  robbers, 
who  took  refuge,  when  they  found  themselves  pursued, 
in  the  monasteries,  where  they  were  welcomed  for  their 
piety,  and  for  the  many  masses  they  ordered  for  their 
sinful  souls. 

"  The  ignorance  was  atrocious,  the  kings  were  advised 
even  in  warlike  matters  by  priests.  Charles  H.,  when 
the  Dutch  troops  offered  to  garrison  the  Spanish  towns 
in  Flanders,  consulted  with  the  clerics  as  on  a  case  of 
conscience,  because  this  might  facilitate  the  diffusion  of 
heresy,  and  he  ended  by  preferring  to  let  them  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  French,  who,  although  they  were 
enemies,  were  at  all  events  Catholics.  In  the  university 
of  Salamanca  the  poet  Torres  de  Villarroel  could  not 
find  a  single  work  on  geography,  and  when  he  spoke  of 
mathematics,  the  pupils  assured  him  it  was  a  kind  of 
sorcery,  a  devilish  science  that  could  only  be  understood 
by  anointing  oneself  with  an  ointment  used  by  witches. 
The  theologians  rejected  the  project  of  a  canal  to  unite 
the  Tagus  and  the  Manzanares,  saying  that  this  would 

c.  o 


194  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

be  a  work  against  the  will  of  God ;  but  having  laid  this 
down — fiat — the  two  rivers  joined  themselves  even 
though  they  had  been  separated  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world.  The  doctors  of  Madrid  begged  Philip  IV. 
to  allow  the  refuse  to  remain  in  the  streets  '  because 
the  air  of  the  town  being  exceedingly  keen,  it  would 
cause  great  ravages  unless  it  were  impregnated  with 
the  vapours  from  the  filth,'  and  a  century  later,  a 
famous  theologian  in  Seville  registered  in  a  public 
document  with  those  who  were  discussing  with  him, 
*  that  we  would  far  rather  err  with  Saint  Clement, 
Saint  Basil  and  Saint  Augustin,  than  agree  with 
Descartes  and  Newton.' 

"  Philip  II.  had  threatened  with  death  and  confiscation 
anyone  who  published  foreign  books  or  who  circulated 
manuscripts,  and  his  successors  forbade  any  Spaniard  to 
write  on  political  subjects,  so,  finding  no  ways  of  expan- 
sion for  thought,  they  devoted  themselves  to  fine  arts 
and  poetry  ;  painting  and  the  theatre  rose  to  a  higher 
level  than  in  any  other  country ;  they  were  the  safety 
valves  of  the  national  genius  ;  but  this  spring  of  art  was 
only  ephemeral,  for  in  the  midst  of  the  seventeenth 
century  a  grotesque  and  debasing  decadence  over- 
whelmed everything. 

"  The  poverty  in  those  centuries  was  horrible  ;  that 
same  Philip  II.,  though  he  was  lord  of  the  world,  put  up 
titles  of  nobility  for  sale  for  the  sum  of  six  thousand 
reals,  noting  on  the  margin  of  the  decree  *  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  inquire  much  into  the  quality  and 
origin  of  the  people.'  In  Madrid  the  people  sacked  the 
bakeries,  fighting  with  their  fists  for  the  bread.  The 
president  of  Castille  travelled  through  the  province 
with  the  executioner  to  wring  the  scanty  harvest  from 
the  peasants.  The  collectors  of  taxes,  finding  nothing 
that  they  could  collect  in  the  towns,  tore  off  the  roofs  of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  195 

the  houses,  selling  the  woodwork  and  the  tiles.  The 
families  fled  to  the  mountains  whenever  they  saw  in  the 
distance  the  king's  representative,  and  so  the  towns 
remained  deserted  and  fell  into  ruins.  Hunger  came  in 
even  to  the  royal  palaces,  and  Charles  II.,  Lord  of  Spain 
and  of  the  Indies  was  unable  on  several  occasions  to 
procure  food  for  his  servants.  The  ambassadors  of 
England  and  Denmark  were  obliged  to  sally  forth  with 
their  armed  servants  to  seek  for  bread  in  the  suburbs  of 
Madrid. 

"  And  amidst  all  this  the  innumerable  convents, 
masters  of  more  than  half  the  country  and  the  sole 
possessors  of  wealth,  showed  their  charity  by  distributing 
soup  to  those  who  had  strength  to  fetch  it,  and  by 
founding  asylums  and  hospitals,  where  the  people  died 
of  misery  though  they  were  certain  of  reaching  heaven. 
The  ancient  manufactures  had  all  disappeared.  Segovia, 
so  famous  for  its  cloth,  that  had  employed  over  40,000 
persons  in  its  manufacture,  only  held  15,000  inhabitants, 
and  these  had  so  completely  forgotten  the  art  of  weav- 
ing wool  that  when  Philip  V.  wished  to  re-establish  the 
industry,  he  was  obliged  to  import  German  weavers. 

"  And  it  was  the  same  thing  in  Seville,  in  Valencia, 
and  in  Medina  del  Campo,  so  famous  for  their  fairs  and 
their  manufactures,"  continued  Gabriel.  "  Seville  which 
in  the  fifteenth  century  had  16,000  silk  weavers,  at  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  could  only  produce  65.  Though 
it  is  true  in  exchange  its  Cathedral  clergy  numbered 
117  canons,  and  it  had  78  convents,  with  more  than 
4,000  friars  and  14,000  priests  in  the  diocese.  And 
Toledo  ?  At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  em- 
ployed 50,000  artisans  in  its  silk  and  wool  weaving  and 
in  its  factory  of  arms,  to  say  nothing  of  curriers,  silver- 
smiths, glovers,  and  jewellers ;  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  it  had  hardly  15,000  inhabitants. 

o  2 


196  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Everything  was  decayed,  everything  was  ruined ;  twenty- 
five  houses  belonging  to  illustrious  families  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  convents,  and  the  only  rich  people 
in  the  town  were  the  friars,  the  archbishop  and  the 
Cathedral.  Spain  was  so  exhausted  at  the  end  of  the 
Austrian  rule  that  she  saw  herself  nearly  divided  among 
the  different  powers  of  Europe,  like  Poland,  another 
Catholic  country  like  ours.  The  quarrels  among  the 
kings  were  the  only  thing  that  saved  her." 

"  If  those  times  were  so  bad,  Gabriel,"  said  Silver 
Stick,  "  how  was  it  the  Spaniards  showed  such  una- 
nimity ?  How  was  it  there  were  no  *  pronunciamientos' 
and  risings  in  these  deplorable  times?  " 

"  What  could  they  do  ?  The  despotism  of  the  Caesars 
had  imposed  on  the  Spaniards  a  blind  obedience  to  the 
kings  as  the  representatives  of  God,  and  the  clergy  had 
educated  them  in  this  belief  from  the  community  of 
interests  between  the  Church  and  the  throne.  Even  the 
most  illustrious  poets  corrupted  the  people,  exalting 
servility  to  the  monarchy  in  their  plays.  Calderon 
affirmed  that  the  property  and  life  of  a  citizen  did  not 
belong  to  himself  but  to  the  king.  Besides,  religion 
filled  everything  ;  it  was  the  sole  end  of  existence,  and 
the  Spaniards  meditating  always  on  heaven,  ended  by 
accustoming  themselves  to  the  miseries  of  earth.  Do 
not  doubt  but  the  excess  of  religion  was  our  ruin,  and 
came  very  near  exterminating  us  as  a  nation.  Even 
now  we  are  dragging  along  the  consequences  of  this 
plague  which  lasted  for  centuries.  To  save  this  country 
from  death  what  had  to  be  done  ?  The  foreigners  had 
to  be  called  in,  and  the  Bourbons  came.  See  how  low 
we  had  fallen  that  we  had  not  even  soldiers.  In  this 
land,  even  if  we  were  wanting  in  other  advantages,  we 
could  from  the  earliest  days  reckon  on  good  warlike 
leaders ;  but  look,  in  the  war  of  succession  we  had  to 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  197 

have  English  and  French  generals,  and  even  officers, 
for  there  was  not  a  Spaniard  who  could  train  a  cannon 
or  command  a  company  ;  we  had  no  one  to  serve  us  as 
a  minister,  and  under  Philip  V.  and  Fernando  VI.  all 
the  Government  were  foreigners,  strangers  called  in  to 
revive  the  lost  manufactures,  to  reclaim  the  derelict 
lands,  to  repair  the  ancient  irrigation  channels,  and 
to  found  colonies  in  the  deserts  inhabited  by  wild 
beasts  and  bandits.  Spain,  who  had  colonised  half  the 
world  after  her  own  fashion,  was  now  re-discovered  and 
colonised  by  Europeans.^  Tlie  Spaniards  seemed  like 
poor  Indians,  guided  by  their  Cacique  the  friar,  with 
their  rags  covered  with  scapularies  and  miracle-working 
relics.  Anti-clericalism  was  the  only  remedy  against  all 
this  superstition  and  ruin,  and  this  spirit  came  in  with 
the  foreign  colonists.  Philip  V.  wished  to  suppress  the 
Inquisition  and  to  end  the  naval  war  with  the  Mussulman 
nations  which  had  lasted  for  a  thousand  years,  depopu- 
lating the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  with  the  fear  of 
the  Barbary  and  Turkish  pirates.  But  the  natives 
resisted  any  reform  coming  from  the  colonists,  and  the 
first  Bourbon  had  to  desist,  finding  his  crown  in  danger. 
Later  on  his  immediate  successors,  having  deeper  roots 
in  the  country  dared  to  continue  his  work.  Carlos  III. 
in  his  endeavour  to  civilise  Spain  laid  a  heavy  hand  on 
the  Church,  limiting  its  privileges  and  curtailing  its 
revenues,  being  careful  of  earthly  things  and  forgetful 
of  the  heavenly.  The  bishops  protested,  speaking  in 
letters  and  pastorals  '  of  the  persecutions  of  the  poor 
Church,  robbed  of  its  goods,  outraged  in  its  ministers, 
and  attacked  in  its  immunities,'  but  the  awakened 
country  rejoiced  in  the  only  prosperous  days  it  had 
known  in   modern  times  before  the  disestablishment. 

'  In    1897   an   Act   was   passed   "to  colonise  derelict  land  in 
Spain." 


igSTHE    SHADOW    OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

Europe  was  ruled  by  philosophic  kings  and  Charles  HI. 
was  one  of  them.  The  echo  of  the  English  revolution 
still  vibrated  through  the  world ;  the  monarchs  now 
wished  to  be  loved  and  not  feared,  and  in  every  country 
they  struggled  against  the  ignorance  and  brutality  of 
the  masses,  bringing  about  progressive  reforms  by  royal 
enactment  and  even  by  force.  But  the  great  evil  of  the 
monarchical  system  was  its  heredity,  the  power  settled 
in  one  family,  for  the  son  of  a  clever  man  with  good 
intentions  might  be  an  imbecile.  After  Charles  HI. 
came  Charles  IV.,  and  as  if  this  were  not  sufficient,  in  the 
year  of  his  death  the  French  revolution  broke  out, 
which  made  all  the  kings  in  Europe  tremble,  and  the 
Bourbons  of  Spain  quite  lost  their  heads,  which  they 
were  never  able  to  recover.  They  went  astray,  wander- 
ing from  the  right  way,  throwing  themselves  once  more 
into  the  arms  of  the  Church  as  the  only  means  of 
avoiding  the  revolutionary  danger,  and  they  have  not 
yet  returned,  nor  will  they,  to  the  right  track.  Jesuits, 
friars  and  bishops  became  once  more  the  counsellors  at 
the  palace,  as  they  still  are,  as  in  the  times  when 
Carlos  II.  concocted  his  military  and  political  plans 
with  a  council  of  theologians.  We  have  had  false 
revolutions  which  have  dethroned  people,  but  not  ideas. 
It  is  true  we  have  advanced  a  little,  but  timidly,  with 
halting  footsteps  and  disorderly  retreats,  like  one  who 
advances  fearfully,  and  suddenly,  at  the  slightest  noise, 
rushes  back  to  the  point  of  departure.  The  trans- 
formation has  been  more  exterior  than  interior.  The 
minds  of  the  people  are  still  in  the  seventeenth  century  ; 
they  still  feel  the  fear  and  cowardice  engendered  by  the 
inquisitorial  bonfires.  The  Spaniards  are  slaves  to  their 
very  marrow ;  their  pride  and  their  energies  are  all  on 
the  surface  ;  they  have  not  lived  through  three  centuries 
of  ecclesiastical  servitude  for  nothing.    They  have  made 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  igg 

revolutions,  they  are  capable  of  rebelling,  but  they  will 
always  stop  short  at  the  threshold  of  the  Church,  who 
was  their  mistress  by  force  and  remains  so  still,  even 
though  its  power  has  vanished.  There  is  no  fear  of 
them  entering  here.  You  may  remain  quite  easy,  Don 
Antolin,  though  in  justice  many  accounts  might  be 
required  of  her  from  the  past.  Is  it  because  they  are  as 
religious  as  formerly  ?  You  know  that  this  is  not  the 
case,  though  they  complain  with  reason  of  the  way  in 
which  the  ancient  grandeur  of  the  Church  has  been 
extinguished  without  popular  aid." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Silver  Stick  ;  "  there  is  no  faith. 
No  one  is  capable  of  making  any  sacrifice  for  the  house 
of  God.  Only  in  the  hour  of  death,  when  fear  comes 
in,  do  some  of  them  remember  to  assist  us  with  their 
fortune." 

"  There  is  no  faith,  that  is  the  truth.  The  Spaniard, 
after  that  religious  fever  that  nearly  killed  him,  lived  in 
a  state  of  perfect  indifference,  not  from  scientific  reflec- 
tion but  from  inability  to  think  at  all.  They  know  they 
will  go  either  to  heaven  or  hell ;  they  believe  it  because 
they  have  been  taught  so,  but  they  let  themselves  be 
carried  on  by  the  stream  of  life,  without  the  strength  to 
choose  either  one  place  or  the  other.  They  accept  the 
established,  living  in  a  sort  of  an  intellectual  somnam- 
bulism. If  now  and  then  thought  awakening  suggests 
some  criticism  it  is  smothered  at  once  by  fear ;  the 
Inquisition  still  lives  among  us  though  we  have  no 
longer  the  bonfires,  but  we  are  terribly  afraid  of  '  what 
will  be  said.'  A  stationary  and  narrow-minded  society 
is  our  modern  holy  office.  He  who  raises  his  protest, 
rising  above  the  general  and  common  monotony,  draws 
upon  himself  the  stupid  anger  of  scandalised  man,  and 
suffers  punishment;  if  he  is  poor  he  is  put  to  the  proof 
of  hunger,  his  means  of  life  being  cut  away  from  him, 


200  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

and  if  he  is  independent  he  is  burned  in  effigy,  creating 
emptiness  around  him.  Everyone  must  be  correct  and 
agree  to  what  is  estabHshed,  and  hence  it  arises,  that, 
bound  to  one  another  by  fear,  never  an  original  thought 
arises,  there  is  no  independent  thought,  and  even  the 
learned  keep  to  themselves  the  conclusions  they  draw 
from  their  studies.  As  long  as  this  goes  on  the  task  of 
the  revolutionary  is  useless  in  this  country ;  they  may 
change  the  apparent  nature  of  the  soil,  but  when  the 
pickaxe  strikes  they  come  at  once  on  the  stones  of 
ages,  solid  and  compact.  The  national  character 
though  it  has  lost  its  religious  faith  is  unchanged. 
Faith  is  dead,  but  the  corpse  still  remains  with  the 
appearance  of  life,  occupying  the  same  place  and 
obstructing  the  pathway.  The  Church  is  poor  and 
driven  into  a  corner  compared  to  what  it  was  formerly, 
Don  Antolin,  but  do  not  fear,  its  situation  will  not  be 
aggravated,  the  tide  has  risen  to  its  full  height  and  will 
not  overflow ;  as  long  as  the  people  in  this  country  are 
afraid  to  say  what  they  think,  as  long  as  they  are 
scandalised  by  a  new  idea,  and  tremble  at  what  their 
neighbours  will  say,  so  long  will  they  laugh  at  revolu- 
tions, for  however  much  they  break  out,  none  of  these 
will  bring  the  water  to  your  mouths." 

Don  Antolin  laughed  on  hearing  this. 

"  But  Gabrielillo,  man — you  must  be  mad.  All  this 
reading  and  travelling  has  turned  your  head.  At  first  I 
was  indignant,  thinking  you  were  among  those  who 
wished  for  another  revolution  to  take  away  the  little 
that  is  left  to  us,  proclaiming  the  republic  and  sup- 
pressing all  ecclesiastical  things,  but  I  see  that  you  go 
much  beyond  this,  that  you  conform  to  nothing,  and 
that  everything  seems  to  you  the  worst ;  and  this 
rather  pleases  me,  because  I  see  you  are  not  a  terrible 
enemy  to  be  feared  as  you  fire  from  too  far.     It  seems 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  201 

to  me  that  your  head  is  as  much  affected  as  your  chest. 
But  do  all  these  revolutions  we  have  had  seem  as  nothing 
to  you  ?  Do  you  think  the  country  is  still  as  savage  as 
you  have  described  it  in  past  years  ?  But  I,"  continued 
the  priest  ironically,  "  hear  a  great  deal  said  about  the 
progress  of  the  country,  and  I  know  that  we  have  rail- 
ways, and  that  the  long  chimneys  are  arising  in  all  the 
town  suburbs,  and  many  of  the  impious  are  delighted  at 
this,  comparing  them  to  the  church  belfries." 

"  Bah  !  "  exclaimed  Gabriel  indifferently.  "  There  is  a 
little  of  this  progress  ;  the  revolutions  have  placed  Spain 
in  touch  with  other  countries,  the  progressive  current 
has  caught  this  country  and  is  carrying  it  along  as  the 
Asiatics  and  others  are  carried ;  no  one  can  escape  it 
nowadays.  But  v/e  advance  at  very  low  water,  inert 
and  without  strength  ;  if  we  advance  it  is  with  the 
current,  and  not  by  our  own  energy,  while  other  people 
stronger  than  we  swim  and  swim,  advancing  at  every 
stroke.  How  have  we  contributed  to  this  progress  ? 
Where  are  our  manifestations  of  modern  life.  The 
railways,  few  and  bad,  are  the  work  of  foreigners,  and 
are  their  property ;  the  grass  grows  between  the 
rails,  which  shows  that  we  still  follow  the  holy  calm  of 
carts  and  wagons.  The  most  important  industries, 
metallurgy  and  mines,  are  all  in  the  hands  of  foreigners 
or  of  Spaniards  who  are  subject  to  them,  living  under 
their  bountiful  protection.  Commerce  languishes  under 
an  old-fashioned  protection  which  enhances  the  price  of 
all  commodities,  and  so  there  is  no  capital  forthcoming  ; 
money  remains  hidden  in  earthen  jars  in  the  fields  as 
treasure,  or  in  the  towns  is  devoted  to  usury  as  in  past 
times  ;  the  most  daring  venture  to  invest  in  public  stock  ; 
Government  continues  the  mismanagement,  certain  of 
always  finding  someone  to  lend,  and  pointing  to  this 
credit  as  a  proof  of  the  country's  prosperity.     There  are 


202  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

in  Spain  two  million  hectares  of  uncultivated  land, 
twenty-six  millions  of  unirrigated  arable  land,  and  only 
one  million  irrigated.  This  cultivation  of  unirrigated 
land,  which  has  come  to  be  almost  our  only  agriculture 
is  a  concession  that  Spanish  indolence  makes  to  hunger, 
a  perpetual  demonstration  of  the  fanaticism  that  trusts 
in  prayer  or  in  the  rain  from  heaven  more  than  in 
human  progress.  The  rivers  rush  to  the  sea  through 
scorched- up  provinces  overflowing  in  winter,  not 
to  fertilise,  but  to  carry  away  everything  in  the 
volume  of  the  inundation  ;  there  is  plenty  of  stone  for 
churches  and  new  convents,  but  none  for  dykes  and 
reservoirs ;  they  build  belfries  and  cut  down  the  trees 
that  attract  the  rain.  And  do  not  tell  me  again,  Don 
Antolin,  that  the  Church  is  poor  and  in  no  ways  in  fault ; 
the  poor  are  yourselves,  you  of  the  old  and  traditional 
Church,  you  of  the  religion  '  a  la  espanola,'  for  in  this  as 
in  everything  else  there  are  fashions,  and  the  faithful 
follow  the  most  recent ;  for  here  are  the  Jesuits,  the 
most  modern  manifestation  of  Catholicism,  the  *  latest 
novelty,'  with  their  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  and  other 
French  idolatries,  building  palaces  and  churches  in  all 
directions,  diverting  the  money  that  formerly  went  to 
the  Cathedrals,  the  only  evidence  of  wealth  in  the 
country.  But  let  us  return  to  our  progress.  Worse  even 
for  agriculture  than  the  drought  is  the  ignorance  and 
routine  of  the  labourers,  every  new  invention  or  scien- 
tific appliance  repels  them,  thinking  it  evil.  '  The  old 
times  were  the  good  ones,  our  ancestors  cultivated  in 
this  way  and  so  ought  we ' ;  and  so  ignorance  is  turned  into 
a  sort  of  national  glory,  and  we  cannot  hope  for  any 
remedy  at  present.  In  other  countries  the  universities 
and  high  schools  send  out  reformers,  men  fighting  for 
progress  ;  here  the  centres  of  learning  only  send  out  a 
proletariat  of  students  who  must  live,  besieging  all  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  203 

professions  and  public  appointments,  with  the  sole  desire 
to  open  themselves  a  way  to  continuous  employment. 
They  study  (if  you  can  call  it  study)  for  a  few  years, 
not  to  learn,  but  to  gain  a  diploma,  a  scrap  of  paper 
which  authorises  them  to  earn  their  bread.  They  learn 
anything  that  the  professor  teaches,  without  the  slightest 
desire  to  inquire  any  further.  The  professors  are  for 
the  greater  part  doctors  or  barristers  practising  their 
profession,  who  come  between  whiles  and  sit  for  an  hour 
in  their  chairs,  repeating  like  a  phonograph  what  they 
have  said  for  many  previous  years,  and  then  they 
return  to  their  sick  or  their  lawsuits,  without  caring  in 
the  least  what  is  being  said  or  written  in  the  world 
since  they  got  their  appointments.  All  Spanish  culture 
is  at  second  hand,  purely  on  the  surface,  '  translated  from 
the  French,'  and  even  this  is  only  for  the  scanty  minority 
who  read,  for  the  rest  of  those  so-called  intellectuals 
have  no  other  library  but  the  text-books  they  studied  as 
children,  and  all  they  learn  of  the  progress  of  human 
thought  is  from  the  newspapers.  The  parents  who  are 
desirous  of  securing  as  soon  as  possible  the  future  of 
their  sons  who  are  seeking  a  career,  send  them  to  these 
centres  of  learning  when  they  scarcely  know  how  to 
speak  ;  the  man-student  of  other  countries,  in  the  full 
plenitude  of  his  thinking  powers,  does  not  exist  here. 
The  universities  are  full  of  children,  and  in  the  different 
institutes  you  only  see  short  trousers,  and  the  Spaniard, 
before  he  shaves  himself  for  the  first  time,  is  a  licentiate 
and  on  the  high  road  to  become  a  doctor ;  the  wet 
nurse  will  end  by  sitting  by  the  professor.  These 
children  who  receive  the  baptism  of  science  at  an  age 
when  in  other  countries  they  are  playing  with  their 
toys,  being  confirmed  in  the  title  that  proclaims  their 
scientific  acquirements,  study  no  more ;  these  are  the 
intellectuals  who  are  to  direct  and  save  us,  and  who 


204  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

to-morrow  may  be  legislators  and  ministers.  Come, 
my  good  man,  it  is  enough  to  make  one  laugh  !  " 

Gabriel  did  not  laugh,  but  Silver  Stickand  the  others 
applauded  his  words.  Any  criticism  against  the  present 
times  delighted  the  priest. 

"  This  country  is  drained,  Don  Antolin,  nothing 
remains  standing.  The  number  of  towns  which  have 
vanished  since  our  decadence  commenced  is  incalcu- 
lable. In  other  countries  ruins  are  carefully  preserved, 
as  so  many  stone  pages  of  their  history  ;  they  are 
cleaned,  preserved,  supported  and  strengthened,  and 
paths  opened  round  them  so  that  all  can  examine  them. 
Here,  where  Roman,  Byzantine  and  Arab  art  have 
passed,  and  also  the  Mudejar,  the  Gothic  and  the  Re- 
naissance— in  fact,  all  the  styles  of  Europe — the  ruins 
in  the  country  are  hidden  and  disfigured  by  herbage 
and  creepers,  and  in  the  towns  they  are  mutilated  and 
disfigured  by  the  vandalism  of  the  people.  They  are 
constantly  thinking  of  the  past,  and  yet  they  despise  its 
remains ;  what  a  country  of  dreams  and  desolation  ! 
Spain  is  no  longer  a  country,  it  is  an  ill-arranged  and 
dustymuseum,  full  of  old  things  that  attract  all  thecurious 
of  Europe,  but  in  which  even  the  ruins  are  ruined." 

The  eyes  of  Don  Martin,  the  young  curate,  fastened 
themselves  on  Gabriel.  They  seemed  to  speak  to  him 
and  express  the  pleasure  with  which  he  heard  his  words. 
The  other  listeners,  silent  and  with  bowed  heads,  did  not 
feel  less  the  enchantment  of  those  propositions  which 
sounded  so  audaciously  in  the  restful  and  rank  atmo- 
sphere of  the  cloister.  Don  Antolin  was  the  only  one 
who  laughed,  finding  Gabriel's  ideas  quite  charming  but 
absolutely  crazy.  It  was  getting  late  and  the  sun  had 
sunk  below  the  roofs  of  the  Cathedral.  Silver  Stick's 
niece  called  to  them  once  again  from  the  door  of  her 
house. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  205 

"  We  are  coming,  child,"  said  the  priest,  "  but  I  have 
one  thing  first  to  say  to  this  gentleman." 

And  addressing  himself  to  Luna,  he  continued  : 

"  But,  Hombre  de  Dios  !^ — but  I  ought  not  to  call  you 
that  as  you  are  so  turbulent — you  think  everything  is 
out  of  joint.  The  Spanish  Church,  worn  out  as  you  say, 
has  become  very  poor,  and  still  you  say  this  revolution 
is  a  very  small  affair.  What  do  you  wish  for  ?  What 
is  it  that  you  desire  so  that  things  might  be  settled  ? 
Tell  us  your  secret  quickly  and  let  us  go,  for  the  cold  is 
ver}'  sharp." 

And  he  laughed  again,  looking  at  Gabriel  with 
paternal  pity  as  though  he  were  a  child. 

"  My  remedy  !  "  exclaimed  Gabriel,  taking  no  notice 
of  the  priest's  gesture.  "  I  have  no  remedy  whatever,  it 
is  the  progress  of  humanity  that  alone  offers  one.  All 
the  nations  on  earth  have  passed  through  the  same 
evolutions  ;  first  of  all  they  were  ruled  by  the  sword, 
then  by  faith,  and  now  by  science.  We  ourselves  have 
been  ruled  by  warriors  and  priests,  but  now  we  tarry  at 
the  gate  of  modern  life,  without  the  strength  or  wish  to 
take  science  by  the  hand,  who  is  the  only  guide  we 
could  have,  hence  our  sad  situation.  Science  is  nowa- 
days in  everything — in  agriculture,  in  all  manufactures, 
in  arts  and  crafts,  in  the  culture  and  well-being  of  the 
people  ;  it  is  even  in  war.  Spain  still  lives  far  from  the 
sun  of  science,  at  most  she  knows  a  pale  reflection, 
cold  and  feeble,  that  comes  to  us  from  foreign  countries. 
The  failure  of  faith  has  left  us  without  strength, 
like  those  creatures  who,  having  suffered  from  a 
severe  illness  in  their  youth,  remain  anaemic  for  ever, 
without  possible  recuperation,  condemned  to  premature 
old  age." 

'  Man  of  God. 


206THE    SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

"  Bah  !  Science  !  "  said  Silver  Stick,  turning  towards 
his  house  ;  "  that  is  the  eternal  cry  of  all  the  enemies  of 
religion.  There  is  no  better  science  than  to  love  God 
and  His  works.     Good  evening." 

"  Very  good  evening,  Don  Antolin  ;  but  remember 
this,  we  have  not  yet  done  with  faith  and  the  sword ; 
sometimes  one  directs  us  or  the  other  drives  us;  but  of 
science,  never  a  word,  unless  Spain  has  changed  in  the 
last  twenty-four  hours." 


CHAPTER  VII 

After  this  evening  Gabriel  avoided  the  meetings  in 
the  cloister,  so  as  to  have  no  more  discussions  with 
Silver  Stick.  He  repented  of  his  audacity,  and  when  he 
was  alone  reflected  on  the  danger  to  which  he  had 
exposed  himself  in  expressing  his  views  so  freely.  He 
felt  terrified  at  the  possibility  of  being  expelled  from  the 
Cathedral  to  roam  the  world  afresh  ;  he  reproached 
himself,  throwing  in  his  own  teeth  his  folly  in  hurling 
himself  against  the  prejudices  of  thepast.^  What  could 
he  hope  to  effect  by  changing  the  thoughts  of  these 
poor  people  ?  What  weight  could  the  conversion  of 
these  few  men,  stuck  like  limpets  to  the  stones  of  the 
past,  have  in  the  emancipation  of  humanity  ? 

The  Cathedral  was  to  Gabriel  like  a  gigantic  tumour, 
which  blistered  the  Spanish  epidermis,  like  scars  of  its 
ancient  infirmities.  It  was  not  a  muscle  capable  of 
development,  but  an  abscess  which  bided  its  time 
either  to  be  extirpated,  or  to  disappear  of  itself  through 
the  working  of  the  germs  it  contained  ;  he  had  chosen 
this  ruin  as  his  refuge  and  he  ought  to  be  silent,  to  be 
prudent  so  that  his  ingratitude  should  not  be  flung  in 
his  face. 

Moreover,  his  brother  Esteban,  breaking  the  cold 
reserve  into  which  he  had  retired  since  the  arrival  of 
his  daughter,  counselled  prudence. 

"  His  mind  seems  possessed  by  the  demon,  Esteban," 
said  the  priest,  "and  he  explains  his  views  with  the 


2o8  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

most  perfect  calmness  in  this  holy  house,  as  though  he 
were  in  one  of  those  infernal  clubs  which  exist  in  foreign 
countries.  Where  on  earth  has  your  brother  been  to 
learn  such  things  ?  Never  have  I  heard  such  frightful 
heresies.  Tell  him  that  I  shall  forget  it  all  as  I  have 
known  him  since  his  childhood,  and  that  I  remember 
he  was  the  pride  of  our  seminary,  but  more  especially 
because  he  is  ill,  and  it  would  be  inhuman  to  drive  him 
out  of  the  Cathedral ;  but  he  must  not  repeat  this 
scandal.  Silence  !  Let  him  keep  all  those  atrocities  in 
his  own  head,  if  it  so  pleases  him  to  lose  his  soul ;  but 
in  this  holy  house,  and  especially  before  its  staff,  not  a 
word.  Do  you  understand  ?  not  a  word.  The  next  thing 
will  be  that  he  will  hold  meetings  in  the  Holy  Metro- 
politan Church.  Besides,  your  brother  must  remember 
that,  after  all,  at  this  moment,  he  is  eating  the  bread  of 
the  Church,  asi  he  lives  on  you,  and  is  supported  by  you, 
and  it  is  not  right  to  speak  in  this  way  of  the  most  excel- 
lent work  of  God,  and  try  to  point  out  all  its  defects." 

This  last  consideration  weighed  the  most  with 
Gabriel,  and  it  wounded  his  dignity.  Don  Antolin  said 
rightly,  he  was  no  more  than  a  parasite  of  the  Cathedral, 
and  having  taken  refuge  in  her  lap,  he  owed  her 
gratitude  and  silence.  He  would  keep  silence.  Had 
he  not  decided  when  he  took  refuge  there  to  live  as  one 
dead  ?  He  would  live  like  an  animated  corpse,  which 
in  some  religious  orders  is  the  supreme  of  human 
perfection.  He  would  think  like  everyone  else,  or 
rather,  he  would  try  not  to  think  at  all,  but  would 
simply  vegetate  there  till  his  last  hour  came,  like  the 
plants  in  the  garden  or  the  fungus  on  the  buttresses  of 
the  cloister. 

The  Cathedral  servants  seated  themselves  round  the 
sewing  machine,  hoping  in  vain  that  their  master  would 
come  down,  but  content  on  the  whole,  though  they  did 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  209 

not  see  him,  to  be  near  him,  to  look  at  his  empty  seat, 
and  to  talk  to  the  girl  who  expressed  such  ingenuous 
admiration  for  her  uncle's  conversation.  The  Chapel- 
master  was  delighted  that  Luna,  his  sole  admirer,  had 
returned  to  visit  him ;  during  his  temporary  eclipse  the 
poor  musician  had  suffered  all  the  bitterness  of  solitude, 
despairing  with  almost  infantile  rage,  as  though  an 
immense  audience  had  turned  its  back  on  him.  He 
caressed  Gabriel  as  though  he  was  the  woman  he  loved, 
listening  to  his  coughing,  and  recommending  all  sorts 
of  fantastic  remedies  imagined  by  himself,  uneasy  at 
the  progress  of  his  malady  and  trembling  at  the  idea 
that  death  might  tear  from  him  his  only  listener. 

He  told  Gabriel  of  all  the  music  he  had  studied 
during  his  absence.  When  the  sick  man  coughed  much, 
he  would  cease  playing  his  harmonium,  and  begin  long 
talks  with  his  friend,  always  on  the  subject  of  his  constant 
preoccupation,  musical  art. 

"  Gabriel,"  said  the  musician  one  evening  ;  "  you  who 
are  so  keen  an  observer,  and  who  know  so  much,  has  it 
ever  struck  you  that  Spain  is  sad,  and  has  not  the 
sweet  sentimentality  of  true  poetry  ?  She  is  not 
melancholy,  she  is  sad,  with  a  wild  and  savage  silence. 
She  either  laughs  in  wild  peals,  or  weeps  moaning. 
She  has  not  the  gentle  smile,  the  joyful  brightness  that 
distinguishes  the  man  from  the  animal.  If  she  laughs 
it  is  showing  all  her  teeth ;  her  inner  meaning  is  always 
gloomy,  with  the  obscurity  of  a  cavern  in  which  all 
passions  rage  like  wild  beasts  seeking  for  an  outlet." 

"  You  say  truly,  Spain  is  sad,"  replied  Luna.  "  She 
does  not  now  go  dressed  in  black,  with  the  rosary 
hanging  to  the  pommel  of  her  sword  as  in  former  years. 
Still  in  her  heart  she  is  always  dressed  in  mourning 
and  her  soul  is  gloomy  and  wild.  For  three  hundred 
years   the    poor   thing    has   endured    the    inquisitorial 

c.  P 


210  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

anguish  of  burning  or  being  burnt,  and  she  still  feels 
the  spasm  of  that  life  of  terror.  There  is  no  joy  here." 
"  There  certainly  is  not,  and  you  find  this  more  in 
music  than  in  any  other  phase  of  Spanish  life.  The 
Germans  dance  the  gay  and  voluptuous  waltz  with  a 
*  bock  '  in  their  hand,  singing  the  Gaudeamus  tgitur,  that 
students'  hymn  glorifying  the  material  life  free  from 
care.  The  French  sing  amid  rippling  laughter,  and 
dance  with  their  free  and  elastic  limbs,  greeting  with 
rapturous  applause  their  fantastic  and  monkey-like 
movements.  The  English  have  turned  their  dance  into 
gymnastics,  with  the  energy  of  a  healthy  body  delighting 
in  its  own  strength.  But  all  these  people,  when  they 
feel  the  sweet  sadness  of  poetry,  sing  Lieds,  romances, 
ballads,  something  soft  and  flowing,  that  rests  the  soul 
and  speaks  to  the  imagination.  Here  even  the  popular 
dances  have  much  that  is  priestly,  recalling  the  priestly 
stiffness  of  the  sacred  dances,  and  the  circling  frenzy  of 
the  priestess,  who  ended  by  falling  in  front  of  the  altar 
with  foaming  mouth  and  bloodshot  eyes.  And  our 
songs  ?  They  are  most  beautiful,  the  products  of  many 
civilisations,  but  most  sad,  despairing,  gloomy,  reveal- 
ing the  soul  of  a  sick  and  tainted  people,  who  find  their 
greatest  pleasure  in  human  bloodshed,  or  urging  on 
dying  horses  in  the  enclosure  of  a  circus.  Spanish  joy  ! 
Andalusian  merriment !  I  cannot  help  laughing  at  it. 
One  night  in  Madrid  I  assisted  at  an  Andalusian  fete, 
all  that  was  most  typical,  most  Spanish.  We  went  to 
enjoy  ourselves  immensely.  Wine  and  more  wine  ! 
And  accordingly  the  bottle  went  round,  with  ever 
frowning  brows,  gloomy  faces,  abrupt  gestures.  *  Ole  ! 
come  along  here  !  This  is  the  joy  of  the  world  ! '  but 
the  joy  did  not  appear  in  any  part.  The  men  looked 
at  one  another  with  scowling  brows,  the  women 
stamped    their  feet  and   clapped    their  hands   with    a 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  211 

stupid  vacuity  in  their  looks,  as  though  the  music  had 
emptied  their  brains.  The  dancers  swayed  Hke  erect 
serpents,  with  their  mouths  open,  their  looks  hard, 
grave,  proud,  unapproachable,  like  dancers  who  were 
performing  a  sacred  rite.  Now  and  then  above  the 
monotonous  and  sleepy  rhythm,  a  song,  harsh  and 
strident  like  a  roar,  like  the  scream  of  one  who  falls 
with  his  body  run  through.  And  the  poetry  ?  As 
dreary  as  a  dungeon,  sometimes  very  beautiful,  but 
beautiful  as  might  be  the  song  of  a  prisoner  behind  his 
bars,  dagger  thrusts  to  the  faithless  wife,  offences 
against  the  mother  washed  out  in  blood,  complaints 
against  the  judge  who  sends  to  prison  the  caballeros^  of 
the  broad-brimmed  sombreros  and  sashes.  The  adieus 
of  the  culprit  who  watches  in  the  chapel  the  light  of 
his  last  morning  dawn.  A  poetry  of  death  and  the 
scaffold  that  wrings  the  heart  and  robs  it  of  all  happi- 
ness ;  even  the  songs  to  the  beauty  of  women  contain 
blood  and  threats.  And  this  is  the  music  that  delights 
the  people  in  their  hours  of  relaxation  and  that  will  go 
on  '  enlivening '  them  probably  for  centuries.  We  are 
a  gloomy  people,  Gabriel,  we  have  it  in  our  very 
marrow,  we  do  not  know  how  to  sing  unless  we  are 
threatening  or  weeping,  and  that  song  is  the  most 
beautiful  which  contains  most  sighs,  most  painful  groans 
and  gasps  of  agony." 

"  It  is  true,  the  Spanish  people  must  necessarily  be 
so.  It  believes  with  its  eyes  shut  in  its  kings  and 
priests  as  the  representatives  of  God,  and  it  moulds 
itself  in  their  image  and  likeness.  Its  merriment  is 
that  of  the  friars — a  coarse  merriment  of  dirty  jests,  of 
greasy  words  and  hoarse  laughs.  Our  spicy  novels  are 
stories   of    the    refectory   composed    in    the   hours   of 

'  Highwaymen. 

P   2 


212  TilK    SHADOW    OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

dif!;estion,  with  the  garments  loosened,  the  hands  crossed 
on  the  paunch,  and  the  triple  chin  resting  on  the 
scapulary.  Their  laughter  arises  always  from  the  same 
sources — grotesque  poverty,  the  troublesome  hangers  on, 
the  tricks  of  hunger  to  rob  a  companion  of  his  provision 
of  begged  scraps.  The  tricks  to  filch  purses  from  the 
gaily-dressed  ladies  who  flaunt  in  the  churches,  who 
serve  as  models  to  our  poets  of  the  golden  age  to  depict 
a  lying  world  devoid  of  honour.  The  woman  enslaved 
behind  iron  bars  and  shutters,  more  dishonest  and 
vicious  than  the  modern  woman  with  all  her  liberty. 
The  Spanish  sadness  is  the  work  of  her  kings,  of  those 
gloomy  invalids  who  dreamt  of  conquering  the  whole 
world  while  their  own  people  were  dying  of  hunger. 
"When  they  saw  that  their  deeds  did  not  correspond  to 
their  hopes,  they  became  hypochondriacs  and  despair- 
ingly fanatical,  believing  their  ruin  to  be  a  punishment 
from  God,  giving  themselves  over  to  a  cruel  devotion 
in  order  to  appease  the  divinity.  When  Philip  II. 
heard  of  the  wreck  of  the  Invincible,  the  death  of  so 
many  thousand  men,  and  the  sorrow  of  half  Spain,  he 
never  even  winked  an  eyelid.  '  I  sent  it  to  fight  with  men, 
not  with  the  elements,'  and  he  went  on  with  his  prayers 
in  the  Escorial.  The  imperturbable  gloom  and  ferocity 
of  the  kings  re-acted  on  the  nation,  and  this  is  why 
for  many  centuries  black  was  the  favourite  colour  at 
the  court  of  Spain.  The  sombre  groves  in  the  royal 
palaces,  with  their  gloomy  winter  foliage,  were  and  still 
are  their  favourite  resorts ;  the  roofs  of  their  country 
palaces  are  black,  with  towers  surmounted  by  weather- 
cocks, and  dark  cloisters  like  monasteries." 

Shut  into  that  small  room  with  no  other  listener 
than  the  Chapel-master,  Gabriel  forgot  the  discretion 
he  had  imposed  on  himself  with  a  view  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  quiet  existence  in  the  Cathedral.     He 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  213 

could  speak  without  fear  in  the  presence  of  the  musician, 
and  he  spoke  warmly  about  the  Spanish  kings  and  of  the 
gloom  that  from  them  had  filtered  through  the  country. 
Melancholy  was  the  punishment  imposed  by  Nature 
on  the  despots  of  the  Western  decadence.  When  a 
king  had  any  artistic  predispositions,  like  Fernando  VI., 
instead  of  tasting  the  joy  of  life  he  nearly  died  of 
weariness  listening  to  the  airs  on  the  guitar  feebly 
tinkled  by  Farinelli.  As  they  were  born  with  their 
minds  closed  to  every  inspiration  of  beauty  or  poetry, 
they  spent  their  lives  gun  in  hand  in  the  woods  near 
Madrid,  shooting  the  deer  and  yawning  with  disgust  at 
the  fatigues  of  the  chase,  while  the  queens  amused 
themselves  at  a  distance  hanging  on  to  the  arm  of  one  of 
the  bodyguard.  They  could  not  live  with  impunity  for 
three  centuries  in  close  contact  with  the  Inquisition, 
exercising  power  simply  as  papal  delegates,  under  the 
direction  of  bishops,  Jesuits,  confessors,  and  monastic 
orders,  who  only  left  to  the  Spanish  monarchy  the 
appearance  of  power,  turning  it,  in  fact,  into  an  oppressed 
theocratic  republic.  The  gloom  of  Catholicism  pene- 
trated into  their  very  bones,  and  while  the  fountains  of 
Versailles  were  playing  among  their  marble  nymphs, 
and  the  courtiers  of  Louis  XIV.  were  decked  like 
butterflies  in  their  multi-coloured  garments,  as  shame- 
less as  pagans  among  the  beautiful  goddesses,  the  court 
of  Spain,  dressed  in  black,  with  a  rosary  hanging  at  its 
girdle,  assisted  at  the  burnings  and,  girt  with  the  green 
scarf  of  the  holy  office,  honoured  itself  by  undertaking 
the  duties  of  alguacil  at  the  bonfires  of  heretics.  While 
humanity,  warmed  by  the  soft  breath  of  the  Renaissance, 
was  admiring  the  ApoUos  and  adoring  the  Venus' 
discovered  by  the  plough  amid  the  ruins  of  mediaeval 
catastrophes,  the  type  of  supreme  beauty  for  the 
Spanish  monarchy  was  the  criminal  of  Judea.      The 


214  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

black  and  dusty  Christs  in  the  old  cathedrals,  with  the 
livid  mouth,  the  skeleton  and  distorted  body,  the  feet 
bony,  and  dripping  with  blood,  much  blood, — that 
liquid  so  loved  by  the  religious  when  doubt  begins  and 
faith  weakens,  and  to  impose  dogma  they  place  their 
hand  on  the  sword. 

"  For  this  reason  the  Spanish  monarchy  has  been 
steeped  in  gloom,  transmitting  its  melancholy  from  one 
generation  to  another.  If  by  any  chance  there  appeared 
among  them  anyone  happy  and  pleased  with  life,  it  was 
because  in  the  blue  blood  of  the  maternal  veins  there 
was  a  plebeian  drop,  which  pierced  like  the  rays  of  the 
sun  into  a  sick  room." 

Don  Luis  listened  to  Gabriel,  receiving  his  words 
with  affirmative  gestures. 

"  Yes,  we  are  a  people  governed  by  gloom,"  said  the 
musician.  "The  sombre  humour  of  those  dark  centuries 
lives  in  us  still.  I  have  often  thought  how  difficult  life 
must  have  been  to  an  awakened  spirit.  The  Inquisition 
listening  to  every  w'ord,  and  endeavouring  to  guess  every 
thought.  The  conquest  of  heaven  the  sole  ideal  of 
life  !  And  that  conquest  becoming  daily  more  difficult ! 
Money  must  be  paid  to  the  Church  to  save  one's  self, 
and  poverty  was  the  most  perfect  state  ;  and  again, 
besides  the  sacrifice  of  all  comfort,  prayers  at  all  hours, 
the  daily  visits  to  the  church,  the  life  of  confraternities, 
the  disciplines  in  the  vaults  of  the  parish  church,  the 
voice  of  the  brother  of  Mortal  Sin  interrupting  sleep  to 
remind  one  of  the  approach  of  Death  ;  and  added  to 
this  fanatical  and  weary  life  the  uncertainty  of  salva- 
tion, the  threat  of  falling  into  hell  for  the  slightest  fault, 
and  the  impossibility  of  ever  thoroughly  appeasing  a 
sullen  and  revengeful  God.  And  then  again,  the  more 
tangible  menace,  the  terror  of  the  bonfire,  engendering 
cowardice  and  debasing  suspected  men." 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  215 

"  In  this  way  we  can  understand,"  said  Gabriel,  "  the 
cynical  confession  of  the  Canon  Llorente  explaining 
why  he  became  secretary  to  the  Holy  Office :  '  They 
began  to  roast,  and  in  order  not  to  be  roasted  I  took  on 
me  the  part  of  roaster.'  For  intelligent  men  there  was 
nothing  else  to  be  done.  How  could  they  resist  and 
rebel  ?  The  king,  master  of  all  lives  and  property, 
was  only  the  servant  of  bishops,  friars,  and  familiars. 
The  kings  of  Spain,  except  the  first  Bourbons,  were 
nothing  but  servants  of  the  Church  ;  in  no  country  has 
been  seen  as  palpably  as  in  this  one  the  solidarity 
between  Church  and  State.  Religion  succeeded  in 
living  without  the  kings,  but  the  kings  could  not  exist 
without  religion.  The  fortunate  warrior,  the  conqueror 
who  founded  a  throne,  had  no  need  of  a  priest.  The 
fame  of  his  exploits  and  his  sword  were  enough  for  him, 
but  as  death  drew  near  he  thought  of  his  heirs,  who 
would  be  unable  to  dispose  of  glory  and  fear  to  make 
themselves  respected  as  he  had  done,  and  he  drew  near 
to  the  priest,  taking  God  as  a  mysterious  ally  who 
would  watch  over  the  preservation  of  the  throne.  The 
founder  of  a  dynasty  reigned  '  by  the  grace  of  strength' 
but  his  descendants  reigned  *  by  the  grace  of  God.'  The 
king  and  the  Church  were  everything  for  the  Spanish 
people.  Faith  had  made  them  slaves  by  a  moral  chain 
that  no  revolutions  could  break ;  its  logic  was  indis- 
putable— the  belief  in  a  personal  God,  who  busied  Him- 
self with  the  most  minute  concerns  of  the  world,  and 
granted  His  grace  to  the  king  that  he  might  reign, 
obliged  them  to  obey  under  pain  of  going  to  hell. 
Those  who  were  rich  and  well  placed  in  the  world  grew 
fat,  praising  the  Lord  who  created  kings  to  save  men 
the  trouble  of  governing  themselves;  those  who  suffered 
consoled  themselves  by  thinking  that  this  life  was  but  a 
passing  trial,  after  which  they  would  be  sure  to  gain  a 


2i6   THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

little  niche  in  heaven.  Religion  is  the  best  of  all 
auxiliaries  to  the  kings  ;  if  it  had  not  existed  before  the 
monarchs  these  last  would  have  invented  it.  The  proof 
is  that  in  these  times  of  doubt  they  are  firmly  anchored 
to  Catholicism,  which  is  the  strongest  prop  of  the 
throne.  Logically  the  kings  ought  to  say,  '  I  am  king 
because  I  have  the  power,  because  I  am  supported  by 
the  army.'  But  no,  senor,  they  prefer  to  continue  the 
old  farce  and  say,  '  I,  the  king,  by  the  grace  of  God.' 
The  little  tyrant  cannot  leave  the  lap  of  the  greater 
despot  ;  it  is  impossible  to  them  to  maintain  themselves 
by  themselves." 

Gabriel  was  silent  for  some  time  ;  he  was  suffocating, 
his  chest  was  heaving  with  the  spasms  of  his  hollow 
cough.     The  Chapel-master  drew  near  alarmed. 

"  Do  not  be  uneasy,"  said  Luna,  recovering  himself; 
'*  it  is  so  every  day.  I  am  ill  and  I  ought  not  to  talk  so 
much,  but  these  things  excite  me,  and  I  feel  irritated  by 
the  absurdities  of  the  monarchy  and  religion,  not  only 
in  this  country,  but  all  over  the  world.  But,  notwith- 
standing, I  have  felt  real  pity,  profound  commiseration 
for  a  being  with  royal  blood.  Can  you  believe  it  ?  I  saw 
him  quite  close  in  one  of  my  journeys  through  Europe. 
I  do  not  know  how  the  police  who  guarded  his  carriage 
did  not  drive  me  away,  fearing  a  possible  attempt,  but 
what  I  felt  was  compassion  for  the  kings  who  have 
come  so  late  into  a  world  that  no  longer  believes  in  the 
divine  right ;  and  these  last  twigs,  sprouting  from  the 
worm-eaten  and  rotten  trunk  of  a  dynasty,  carry  in 
their  poor  sap  the  decay  of  the  rotten  branches.  It  was 
a  youth,  as  sick  as  I  am,  not  by  the  chances  of  life,  but 
weakly  from  his  cradle,  condemned  before  his  birth  to 
suffer  from  the  malady  that  came  to  him  with  his  life. 
Just  imagine,  Don  Luis,  if  at  this  time  for  the 
preservation    of    my    own    interests    I    begot    a    son. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  217 

would  it  not  be  a  coldly  premeditated  attempt  against 
the  future  ?  " 

And  the  revolutionist  described  the  young  invalid  :  his 
thin  body,  artificially  strengthened  by  hygiene  and  gym- 
nastics, his  eyes  heavy  and  sunk  deep  in  their  sockets, 
the  lower  jaw  hanging  loose  like  that  of  a  corpse, 
wanting  the  strength  that  keeps  it  fixed  to  the  skull. 

"  Poor  youth  !  Why  was  he  born  ?  What  would  be 
accomplished  in  his  journey  through  the  world  ?  Why 
had  Nature,  who  so  often  refuses  fecundity  to  the  strong, 
shown  herself  prodigal  to  the  loveless  union  of  a  dying 
consumptive  ?  What  was  the  use  to  him  of  having 
carriages  and  horses,  liveried  servants  to  salute  him, 
and  ninnies  to  give  him  food  ;  it  would  have  been  far 
better  had  he  never  appeared  in  the  world  but  had 
remained  in  the  limbo  of  those  who  are  never  born. 
Like  the  squire  of  Don  Quixote,  who  finding  himself  at 
last  in  the  plenty  of  Barataria,  had  by  his  side  a  doctor 
Recio  to  restrain  his  appetite,  this  poor  creature  could 
never  enjoy  with  freedom  the  pleasures  of  the  remains  of 
life  left  to  him." 

"They  pay  him  thousands  of  duros,"  added  Gabriel, 
"  for  every  minute  of  his  life,  but  no  amount  of  gold  can 
procure  him  a  drop  of  fresh  blood  to  cure  the  hereditary 
poison  in  his  veins.  He  is  surrounded  by  beautiful 
women,  but  if  he  feels  arising  the  happy  tremors  of 
youth,  the  sap  of  the  spring  of  life,  the  predisposition 
of  a  family  who  have  only  been  notable  for  the  victories 
won  in  love's  battles,  he  must  remain  cold  and  austere, 
under  his  mother's  vigilant  eye,  who  knows  that  carnal 
passion  would  rapidly  end  a  life  so  weak  and  uncertain. 
And  the  end  of  all  these  sad  and  painful  privations — 
inevitable  death.  Why  was  this  poor  creature  born  ? 
Often  the  greatness  of  the  earth  is  worse  than  a  male- 
diction, and  reasons  of  State  are  the  most  cruel  of  all 


2I8THE    SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

torments  for  an  invalid,  obliging  him  to  feign  a  health 
he  does  not  feel.  To  speak  of  the  illness  of  the  king  is 
a  crime,  and  the  courtiers  living  under  the  shadow  of 
the  throne  consider  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  king's 
health  as  a  sacrilege,  a  crime  worthy  of  punishment,  as 
though  he  were  not  a  human  being  subject  like  others 
to  death." 

"  I  do  not  care  much  for  politics,"  said  the  Chapel- 
master  ;  "  kings  and  republics  are  all  the  same  to  me,  I 
am  a  votary  of  art.  I  do  not  know  what  monarchy 
may  be  in  the  other  countries  that  you  have  seen,  but 
in  Spain  it  seems  quite  played  out.  It  is  tolerated  like 
so  many  relics  of  the  past,  but  it  inspires  no  enthusiasm 
and  no  one  is  inclined  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  it,  and 
I  believe  that  even  the  people  who  live  in  its  shadow, 
and  whose  interests  are  most  bound  up  with  those  of 
the  crown,  have  more  devotion  on  their  tongues  than  in 
their  hearts." 

"  It  is  so,  Don  Luis,"  said  Gabriel ;  "  for  nearly  a 
century  the  monarchy  has  been  dead  in  Spain ;  the  last 
loved  and  popular  king  was  Fernando  VII.  Since  then 
the  nation  has  asserted  itself,  becoming  emancipated 
from  the  old  traditions,  but  the  kings  have  not  pro- 
gressed ;  on  the  contrary,  they  have  gone  back,  with- 
drawing themselves  daily  more  and  more  from  the  anti- 
clerical and  reforming  tendencies  of  the  first  Bourbons. 
If  in  educating  a  prince  nowadays  his  masters  were  to 
say,  '  We  will  try  and  make  a  Carlos  III.  of  him,' 
even  the  stones  of  the  palace  would  be  scandalised. 
The  Austrians  have  revived  like  those  parasitic  plants 
which,  having  been  torn  up,  reappear  after  a  little 
while.  If  in  the  life  of  the  kings  they  seek  for  examples 
in  the  past,  they  remember  the  Austrian  Caesars,  but 
it  is  complete  oblivion  of  those  first  Bourbons  who 
morally  killed  the  Inquisition,  expelled  the  Jesuits,  and 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  219 

fostered  the  material  progress  of  the  country  ;  they 
renounce  the  memory  of  those  foreign  ministers  who 
came  to  civihse  Spain.  Jesuits,  friars  and  clerics  order 
and  direct  as  in  the  best  times  of  Charles  II.  To 
have  had  as  minister  a  Count  of  Aranda,  the  friend  of 
Voltaire,  is  a  shame  of  the  past  and  to  be  passed  over 
in  silence.  Yes,  Don  Luis,  you  say  well,  the  monarchy 
is  dead.  Between  it  and  the  country  there  is  the  same 
relation  as  between  a  corpse  and  a  living  man.  The 
secular  laziness,  the  resistance  to  all  change,  and  the 
fear  of  the  unknown  that  all  stationary  people  feel,  are 
the  causes  of  the  continuance  of  this  institution,  that 
has  not  like  other  countries  the  military  outlet  or  the 
aggrandisement  of  its  territory  as  a  justification  of  its 
existence." 

With  this  the  conversation  ended  that  evening  in  the 
Chapel-master's  little  room. 

Gabriel  found  himself  drawn  afresh  by  the  affection 
of  his  admirers  in  the  Claverias.  They  coaxed  him  and 
followed  him,  lamenting  his  absence.  They  could  not 
live  without  him,  so  declared  the  shoemaker.  They 
had  become  accustomed  to  listen  to  him,  they  felt  the 
desire  of  being  enlightened,  and  they  begged  the  master 
not  to  desert  them. 

"  We  meet  in  the  tower  now,"  said  the  bell-ringer; 
"  Silver  Stick  looks  on  our  meetings  with  an  evil  eye, 
and  he  has  gone  so  far  as  to  threaten  the  shoemaker  to 
turn  him  out  of  the  Claverias  if  the  meetings  continue 
to  be  held  in  his  house.  He  will  not  interfere  with  me  ; 
he  knows  my  character.  Besides,  if  he  rules  in  the 
upper  cloister,  I  rule  in  my  tower.  I  am  quite  capable, 
if  he  comes  to  disturb  us  with  his  spying,  of  throwing 
him  down  the  stairs,  the  miserly  devil !  " 

And  he  added  with  an  affectionate  expression,  a  great 
contrast  to  his  usual  rough  and  taciturn  character : 


220THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

'*  Come,  Gabriel,  we  expect  you  in  my  house.  When 
you  are  tired  of  keeping  your  niece  and  that  crazy  Don 
Luis  company,  come  up  for  a  little  while.  We  cannot 
get  on  without  your  words.  Don  Martin  has  been  quite 
enthusiastic  since  he  heard  you  the  other  evening  ;  he 
wants  to  see  you ;  he  says  he  would  go  from  one  end  of 
Toledo  to  the  other  to  hear  you.  He  wishes  me  to  let 
him  know  if  you  decide  on  rejoining  your  friends, 
because  Don  Antolin  in  speaking  to  him  sets  you  down 
as  a  madman  and  a  heretic  who  does  not  know  what  to 
be  after.  But  he  is  an  ignoramus  who,  after  studying 
for  his  profession,  can  do  no  better  than  sell  tickets  and 
squeeze  the  poor." 

Luna  returned  to  the  meetings  in  the  bell-ringer's 
house.  The  greater  part  of  the  morning  he  sat  by  his 
niece,  soothed  by  the  tic-tac  of  the  machine,  which 
caused  a  gentle  drowsiness,  watching  the  cloth  pass 
under  the  presser  with  little  jumps,  spreading  the 
peculiar  chemical  scent  of  new  stuffs. 

He  watched  Sagrario  always  sad,  devoting  herself  to 
her  work  with  taciturn  tenacity ;  when  now  and  then 
she  raised  her  head  to  regulate  her  cotton  and  met 
Gabriel's  glance,  a  faint  smile  would  pass  over  her 
face. 

In  the  isolation  in  which  the  anger  of  her  father  had 
left  them  they  felt  obliged  to  draw  together  as  though 
a  common  danger  threatened  them,  and  their  bodily 
.infirmities  were  a  further  bond  of  union.  Gabriel  pitied 
the  fate  of  the  poor  young  woman,  seeing  how  hardly 
the  world  had  treated  her  after  her  flight  from  the 
family  hearth.  Her  long  illness  had  changed  her 
greatly  and  still  caused  her  pain,  her  once  beautiful 
teeth  were  no  longer  white  and  regular,  and  the  lips 
were  pallid  and  drawn  ;  her  hair  had  grown  thin  in 
places,  but  she  contrived   to  conceal  this  with  locks  of 


THE    SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  221 

the  auburn  hair,  remains  of  her  former  beauty,  which 
she  dressed  with  great  skill ;  but  in  spite  of  this  her 
youth  was  beginning  to  assert  itself,  giving  light  to  her 
eyes  and  charm  to  her  smile. 

Many  nights  Gabriel,  tossing  on  his  bed  unable  to 
sleep,  coughing,  and  with  his  head  and  chest  bathed  in 
cold  sweat,  would  hear  in  the  room  adjoining  the  sup- 
pressed moans  of  his  niece,  timid  and  smothered  so 
that  the  rest  of  the  household  should  not  be  disturbed. 

"  What  was  the  matter  with  you  last  night  ?  "  asked 
Gabriel  the  following  morning.  "  What  were  you 
moaning  for  ?  " 

And  Sagrario,  after  many  denials,  finally  admitted 
her  discomfort : 

"  My  bones  ache  ;  directly  I  get  to  bed  the  pain 
begins  and  I  feel  as  though  my  limbs  were  being  torn 
asunder.  And  you,  how  are  you  ?  All  night  I  heard 
you  cough,  and  I  thought  you  were  suffocating." 

And  the  two  invalids  stricken  by  life  forgot  their  own 
aches  and  pains  to  sympathise  with  those  of  the  other, 
establishing  between  their  hearts  a  current  of  loving  pity, 
attracted  to  each  other  not  by  the  difference  of  sex,  but 
by  the  fraternal  sympathy  aroused  by  each  other's 
misfortunes. 

Very  often  Sagrario  would  try  to  send  her  uncle  away  ; 
it  pained  her  to  see  him  sitting  close  by  her,  doing 
nothing,  coughing  painfully,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  her  as 
though  she  were  an  object  of  adoration. 

"  Get  up  from  here,"  the  girl  would  say  gaily — "  it 
makes  me  nervous  seeing  you  so  very  quiet  keeping  me 
company  when  what  you  want  is  life  and  movement. 
Go  to  your  friends ;  they  are  expecting  you  in  the  bell- 
ringer's  tower.  They  have  been  talking  about  me, 
thinking  it  is  I  who  keep  you  in  the  house.  Go  out  to 
walk,  uncle!     Go  and  speak  of  those  things  that  stir 


222  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

you  so  much,  and  that  those  poor  people  hsten  to  open- 
mouthed.  Be  careful  as  you  go  up  the  stairs ;  go  slowly 
and  stop  often,  so  that  the  demon  of  the  cough  may 
not  get  hold  of  you." 

Gabriel  spent  the  later  hours  of  the  morning  in  the 
bell-ringer's  "habitacion."  The  walls  of  ancient  white- 
wash were  adorned  by  faded  and  yellow  engravings, 
representing  episodes  in  the  Carlist  war,  remembrances 
of  the  mountain  campaign  which  for  long  years  had 
been  the  pride  of  Mariano,  but  of  which  now  he  never 
spoke. 

Here  Gabriel  met  all  his  admirers.  Even  the  shoe- 
maker worked  at  night  in  order  not  to  deprive  himself 
of  this  meeting.  Don  Martin,  the  curate,  also  came  up, 
concealing  himself  carefully  so  that  Silver  Stick  should 
not  see  him.  It  was  a  small  community  grouping  itself 
round  the  sick  apostle,  with  all  the  zeal  inspired  by  the 
unknown. 

Gabriel  answered  all  these  men's  questions,  that  so 
often  betrayed  the  simplicity  of  their  minds.  When  a 
fit  of  coughing  seized  him,  they  all  surrounded  him 
with  concern  written  on  their  faces.  They  would  have 
wished  even  at  the  cost  of  their  own  lives  to  restore 
him  to  health.  Luna,  carried  away  by  his  enthusiasm, 
ended  by  narrating  to  them  the  story  of  his  life  and 
sufferings,  and  so  the  prestige  of  martyrdom  came  to 
increase  the  ardour  of  these  people.  The  narrowed 
minds  of  these  sedentary  men,  living  tranquil  and  safe 
in  the  Cathedral,  made  them  admire  the  adventures 
and  torments  of  this  fighter ;  for  them  he  was  a  martyr 
to  this  new  religion  of  the  humble  and  oppressed,  and 
besides,  their  innocence  converted  him  into  a  victim  of 
that  social  injustice  which  they  daily  hated  more. 

For  them  there  was  no  other  truth  but  Gabriel's 
words  ;  the  bell-ringer,  although  the  roughest  and  most 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  223 

silent  among  them,  was  the  most  advanced  in  his  con- 
version. His  admiration  for  Gabriel  which  dated  from 
their  childhood,  his  dog-like  fidelity,  carried  him  on  with 
leaps  and  bounds,  making  him  accept  at  once  even  the 
most  distant  ideals. 

*'  I  am  whatever  you  are,  Gabriel,"  he  said  firmly. 
"  Are  you  not  an  anarchist  ?  I  will  be  one  also — indeed, 
I  think  I  have  always  been  one.  Do  you  not  preach 
that  the  poor  should  live  and  the  rich  should  work  ; 
that  everyone  should  possess  what  he  earns,  and  that 
we  should  all  help  one  another  ?  Well,  this  is  just 
what  I  thought  when  we  wandered  over  the  country 
with  our  guns  and  our  scarf.  And  as  far  as  religion  is 
concerned,  which  formerly  nearly  drove  us  mad,  I  feel 
perfectly  indifferent.  I  am  convinced  on  hearing  you 
that  it  is  a  sort  of  fable  invented  by  clever  people  in 
order  that  we,  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  should  submit 
to  the  miseries  of  this  world  hoping  for  heaven  ;  it  is 
not  badly  imagined,  for  in  the  end  those  who  die  and 
do  not  find  heaven  will  not  return  to  complain." 

One  day  Gabriel  wished  to  go  up  where  the  bells  were 
hung.  It  was  now  well  on  in  spring  ;  it  was  warm,  and 
the  intense  blue  of  the  sky  seemed  to  attract  him. 

"  I  have  not  seen  the  '  big  bell '  since  I  was  a  child," 
he  said.  **  Let  us  go  up  ;  I  should  like  to  see  Toledo  for 
the  last  time." 

And  accompanied  by  his  admirers,  indeed,  almost 
carried  by  them,  he  went  slowly  up  the  narrow  spiral 
staircase.  Arrived  at  the  top,  the  soft  wind  was  mur- 
muring through  the  great  iron  railings,  the  cages  of  the 
bells.  From  the  centre  of  the  vault  hung  the  famous 
"  Gorda,"  an  immense  bronze  bell,  with  all  one  side 
split  by  a  large  crack ;  the  clapper,  which  was  the  author 
of  the  mischief,  lay  below  it,  engraved  and  as  thick  as  a 
column,  and  a  smaller  one  now  occupied  the  cavity. 


224  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  roofs  of  the  Cathedral,  dark  and  ugly,  lay  at  their 
feet,  and  in  front  on  a  hill  rose  the  Alcazar,  higher  and 
larger  than  the  church,  as  though  keeping  up  the  spirit 
of  the  emperor  who  built  it,  Caesar  of  Catholicism, 
champion  of  the  faith,  but  who  nevertheless  strove  to 
keep  the  Church  at  his  feet. 

The  city  spread  out  around  the  Cathedral,  the  houses 
disappearing  in  the  crowd  of  towers,  cupolas  and 
absides.  It  was  impossible  to  look  on  any  side  without 
meeting  with  chapels,  churches,  convents  and  ancient 
hospitals.  Religion  had  absorbed  the  industrious  Toledo 
of  old,  and  still  guarded  the  dead  city  beneath  its  hood 
of  stone.  From  some  of  the  belfries  a  red  flag  was 
floating,  bearing  a  white  chalice  ;  this  meant  that  some 
newly-ordained  priest  was  singing  his  first  mass. 

"  I  have  never  been  up  here,"  said  Don  Martin,  sitting 
by  Gabriel's  side  on  one  of  the  rafters,  "without  seeing 
some  of  these  flags ;  ecclesiastical  recruiting  never 
ceases,  there  are  always  visionaries  to  fill  its  ranks. 
Those  who  really  have  faith  are  the  minority,  the 
greater  part  enter  because  they  see  the  Church  still 
triumphant  and  seemingly  commanding,  and  they  think 
that  in  her  ranks  some  tremendous  career  is  waiting 
for  them.  Unlucky  wights !  I  also  was  led  to  the 
altar  with  music  and  oratorical  shouts,  as  though  I  were 
walking  to  a  triumph.  Incense  spread  its  clouds  before 
my  eyes,  all  my  family  wept  with  emotion  at  seeing  me 
nothing  less  than  a  minister  of  God.  And  the  day 
following  all  this  theatrical  pomp,  when  the  lights  and 
the  censers  were  extinguished  and  the  church  had 
recovered  its  ordinary  aspect,  began  this  miserable  life 
of  poverty  and  intrigue  to  earn  one's  bread — seven  duros 
a  month !  To  endure  at  all  hours  the  complaints  of 
those  poor  women,  with  their  tempers  embittered  by 
seclusion,  common  as  the  lowest  servants,  who  spend 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  225 

their  lives  gossiping  in  the  parlour  of  what  is  passing 
in  the  towns,  inventing  scandals  to  please  the  canons, 
or  the  families  who  protect  the  house.  And  there  are 
priests  who  envy  me  !  hungering  against  me  for  this 
coveted  chaplaincy  of  nuns !  looking  upon  me  as  a 
flattering  hanger-on  of  the  archiepiscopal  palace,  not 
understanding  how  otherwise,  being  so  young,  I  could 
have  hooked  out  this  preferment  that  allows  me  to  live 
in  Toledo  on  seven  duros  a  month  !  " 

Gabriel  nodded  his  head,  sympathising  with  the 
young  priest's  complaints. 

"  Yes,  it  is  you  who  are  deceived.  The  day  for 
making  great  fortunes  in  the  Church  is  past,  and  the 
poor  youths  who  now  wear  the  cassock  and  dream  of  a 
mitre  make  me  think  of  those  emigrants  who  go  to 
distant  countries  famous  through  long  centuries  of 
plunder,  and  find  them  even  more  poverty-stricken 
than  their  own  land." 

"  You  are  right,  Gabriel.  The  day  of  the  all-powerful 
Church  is  past ;  she  has  still  in  her  udders  milk  enough 
for  all,  but  there  are  few  who  can  fasten  on  to  them 
and  fill  themselves  to  repletion,  while  others  groan  with 
hunger.  One  could  die  of  laughing  when  one  hears  of 
the  equality  and  the  democratic  spirit  of  the  Church. 
It  is  all  a  lie ;  in  no  other  institution  does  so  cruel  a 
despotism  reign.  In  early  days  Popes  and  bishops 
were  elected  by  the  faithful,  and  were  deposed  from 
power  if  they  used  it  badly.  The  aristocracy  of  the 
Church  exists  still ;  it  may  be  a  canon  upwards,  or  one 
who  succeeds  in  crowning  himself  with  a  mitre ;  from 
them  no  account  is  required.  Among  the  laity  appoint- 
ments are  changed,  ministers  are  turned  out,  soldiers 
are  degraded — even  kings  are  dethroned;  but  who  exacts 
responsibility  from  Pope  or  bishops  once  they  are 
anointed  and  in  more  or  less  frequent  intercourse  with 

c.  Q 


226  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  Holy  Spirit  ?  If  you  want  justice  you  are  sent 
before  tribunals  equally  formed  by  the  aristocrats  of  the 
Church ;  there  is  no  power  more  absolute  on  earth,  not 
even  the  Grand  Turk,  who  in  a  measure  is  responsible 
through  fear  of  revolts  in  his  seraglio.  Here,  in  the 
seraglio  of  the  Church,  we  are  all  less  than  women.  If 
it  happens  that  a  priest,  weary  of  persecution,  feeling 
the  man  once  more  rising  beneath  his  cassock,  deals  a 
heavy  blow  at  his  tyrant,  he  is  declared  mad ;  the 
climax  of  hypocrisy  !  They  try  to  demonstrate  that  in 
the  Church  one  lives  in  the  best  of  worlds,  and  it  is 
only  the  lack  of  reason  that  causes  any  rebellion  against 
its  authority." 

Don  Martin  was  silent  for  a  long  while  as  though  he 
were  searching  in  his  memory ;  at  length  he  continued : 

"  You  also  laugh  at  the  idea  of  the  actual  poverty  of 
the  Church  in  Spain.  She  is  like  the  great  ruined 
noblemen,  who  still  have  enough  to  live  upon  in 
idleness,  but  who  think  themselves  miserably  poor 
compared  to  their  former  wealth ;  the  Church  has  the 
nostalgia  of  those  former  centuries  when  she  possessed 
half  the  wealth  of  Spain.  Poor  she  is  if  she  thinks  of 
those  times,  but  if  you  compare  her  with  the  Catholicism 
of  other  modern  nations  you  find  that,  as  in  former 
years,  she  is  by  far  the  most  favoured  and  best  paid 
establishment  in  the  State.  She  absorbs  forty-one 
millions  of  the  revenue,  which  is  enormous  in  a  country 
which  only  devotes  nine  millions  to  schools  and 
teaching,  and  one  million  to  the  relief  of  the  poor.  To 
maintain  an  intercourse  with  God  costs  a  Spaniard  five 
times  as  much  as  to  learn  to  read.  But  this  forty-one 
millions  is  a  blind.  My  own  poverty  made  me  inquisi- 
tive, and  I  wished  to  know  what  the  clergy  in  Spain 
really  receive,  and  what  comes  to  our  hands,  the  rank 
and  file.    The  demands  and  pensions  of  the  Church  are 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  227 

an  intricate  tangle,  apart  from  the  forty-one  millions. 
There  is  not  a  single  ministry  in  which  the  Church  has 
not  struck  her  roots  ;  she  is  paid  by  the  Ministers  of 
State  for  foreign  missions,  which  are  no  use  to  anyone, 
by  the  Ministers  of  War  and  Marine  for  military  clergy, 
and  by  the  Ministers  of  Public  Instruction  and  Justice. 
She  is  paid  to  support  the  pomp  of  the  Roman  Pontiff, 
as  we  maintain  his  ambassador  in  Spain,  which  is  as 
though  I  allowed  myself  the  luxury  of  keeping  servants, 
and  laid  on  my  neighbour  the  obligation  of  paying 
them.  She  is  paid  for  the  repairs  to  churches,  for 
episcopal  libraries,  for  the  colonisation  of  Fernando 
Po,  for  unforeseen  occurrences,  and  I  do  not  know 
how  many  supplemental  items  besides  !  And  you  must 
take  into  account  what  the  Spanish  people  pay  the 
Church  voluntarily  apart  from  what  the  State  gives. 
The  Bull  of  the  Holy  Crusade  produces  two  and  a  half 
million  pesetas  annually;  besides  this  you  must  consider 
what  the  parochial  clergy  draw  from  their  congrega- 
tions, the  annual  gifts  to  the  religious  orders  for  their 
ministry  and  offices  (and  this  is  the  fattest  portion), 
and  the  ecclesiastical  revenue  from  the  Ayuntamientos 
and  deputations.  In  short,  this  Church,  which  is  con- 
tinually speaking  of  its  poverty,  draws  from  the  State 
and  the  country  more  than  three  hundred  million 
pesetas  annually — nearly  double  what  the  army  costs  ; 
although  they  are  always  complaining  in  the  sacristies 
of  these  modern  times,  saying  that  everything  is 
devoured  by  the  military,  and  that  the  fault  of  every- 
thing that  has  happened  is  theirs,  as  they  threw 
themselves  on  to  the  side  of  that  cursed  liberty.  Three 
hundred  millions,  Gabriel !  I  have  calculated  it  care- 
fully !  And  I,  who  form  part  of  this  great  establishment, 
receive  seven  duros  a  month ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
vicars  in  Spain  are  paid  less  than  an  excise  officer,  and 

Q  2 


228  THE    SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

thousands  of  clergy  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  wandering 
from  sacristy  to  sacristy  trying  to  obtain  a  mass  to  put 
the  stew  on  the  fire ;  and  if  bands  of  clergy  do  not  go 
into  the  highways  to  rob,  it   is   only  from  fear  of  the 
civil    guard,   and   because   after   a   couple   of  days   of 
hunger  a  third  may  come  in  which  they  may  beg  some 
scraps  to  eat  ;  there  is  always  a  crumb  to  allay  hunger, 
and  no  cassock  ever  falls  in  the  street  dying  of  want, 
but  there  are  a  great    many  clerics  who  spend  their 
existence  deceiving  their  stomachs,  trying  to  imagine 
they  nourish  themselves,  till  some  sudden  illness  comes 
which  hurries  them  out  of  the  world.     Where,  then, 
does  all  this  money  go  ?     To  the  aristocracy  of  the 
Church,  to  the  true  sacerdotal  caste  ;  but  we  who  are  in 
religion  are  people  of  the  backstairs.     What  a  terrible 
mistake,  Gabriel !     To  renounce  love  and  family  affec- 
tion, to  fly  all  worldly  pleasures,  the  theatre,  concerts, 
the  cafe ;  to  be  looked  upon  by  people,  even  by  those 
who  think  themselves  religious,  as  a  strange  being,  a 
sort  of  intermediate,  neither  a  man  nor  a  woman ;  to 
wear    petticoats    and  to  be  dressed  like  a  lugubrious 
doll ;  and  in  exchange  for  all  these  sacrifices  to  earn 
less  than  a  man  who  breaks  stones  on  the  road.     We 
live  idly,  certain  that  we  shall  never  fall  from  over- 
work, but  our   poverty  is  greater  than  that  of  many 
workmen  ;  we  cannot  acknowledge  it,  nor  put  ourselves 
in  the  way  of  begging  alms,  for  the  honour  of  our  cloth. 
And  besides,  why  should  they  keep  us  if  we  are  of  no 
practical  use  and  cost  the  country  so  dear?    When  the 
religious  domination  came  to  an  end  in  Spain  it  was 
only  we,  the  lower  ones,  who  suffered  in  consequence. 
The   priest  is  poor,  the  temple  is  poor  also ;  but  the 
prince  of  the  Church  retains  his  thousands  of  duros 
yearly,  and  his  great  ecclesiastical  state,  and  he  sings 
his  psalms  tranquilly,  certain  that  his  pittance  is  in  no 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  229 

danger.  The  revolution  up  to  now  has  only  prejudiced 
the  lower  clergy ;  the  power  of  the  Church  is  ended,  it 
is  gone ;  what  we  see  is  only  its  corpse,  but  an  enor- 
mous corpse  that  will  cost  a  great  deal  to  remove,  and 
whose  preservation  will  swallow  up  a  great  deal  of 
money." 

"  It  is  true  the  Church  is  defunct ;  what  we  fight  are 
only  its  remains.  The  vulgar  believe  it  still  lives 
because  they  can  see  and  touch  it,  forgetting  that  a 
religion  counts  centuries  in  its  life  as  minutes,  and  that 
generation  after  generation  pass  between  its  death  and 
burial.  Centuries  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  Paganism 
had  fallen.  The  Athenian  poets  mocked  the  gods  of 
Olympus  on  the  stage,  and  the  philosophers  despised  it. 
All  the  same  Christianity  required  many  years  of  pro- 
paganda and  the  political  support  of  the  Caesars  to 
bring  it  to  an  end,  and  even  then  it  was  not  done  with, 
for  dogmas  are  like  men  who  leave  behind  something  of 
themselves  in  the  family  who  succeed  them.  Religions 
do  not  disappear  suddenly  through  a  trapdoor  ;  they 
are  extinguished  slowly,  leaving  some  of  their  beliefs 
and  their  ceremonies  to  the  religions  that  follow  them. 
We  have  been  born  in  one  of  those  times  of  transition, 
we  are  present  at  the  death  of  a  whole  world  of  beliefs. 
How  long  will  the  agony  last  ?  Who  knows  ?  Two 
centuries  ?  Possibly  less  may  be  wanted  to  crystallise 
in  humanity  a  fresh  proof  of  its  uncertainty  and  of  its 
fear  of  the  great  mystery'  of  nature,  but  death  is  certain, 
inevitable.  But  what  religion  has  been  eternal  ?  The 
symptoms  of  dissolution  are  visible  everywhere.  Where 
is  that  faith  that  drove  those  warlike  multitudes  to  the 
crusades  ?  Where  is  that  fervour  which  continued 
building  cathedrals  for  a  couple  of  hundred  years  with 
angelic  patience  to  shelter  a  host  under  a  mountain  of 
stone  ?     Who  scourges  themselves  to-day,  or  tortures 


230  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

their  flesh,  or  lives  in  the  desert  musing  continually  on 
death  and  hell  ?  Three  centuries  of  intolerance  and  of 
excessive  clerical  severity  have  made  our  nation  the 
most  indifferent  to  all  religious  matters.  The  cere- 
monies of  worship  are  followed  by  routine,  because  they 
appeal  to  the  imagination,  but  no  one  takes  the  trouble 
to  understand  the  foundations  of  the  beliefs  they  pro- 
fess ;  they  live  as  they  please,  certain  that  in  their  last 
hours  it  is  sufficient  to  save  their  souls,  to  die  sur- 
rounded by  priests  with  a  crucifix  in  their  hands.  In 
former  days  the  pressure  from  clergy,  friars,  and  inquisi- 
tors was  so  great  that  the  machine  of  faith  burst  into  a 
thousand  pieces,  and  there  is  no  one  now  who  can  fit 
the  pieces  together,  which  require  the  co-operation  of  all. 
And  that  was  a  piece  of  good  luck,  friend  Don  Martin  ;  a 
century  more  of  religious  intolerance  and  we  should 
have  been  like  those  Mussulmen  in  Africa,  who  live  in  bar- 
barism on  account  of  their  excessive  bigotry,  after  having 
been  the  civilising  Arabs  of  Cordoba  and  Granada." 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  the  young  curate,  "  why 
Catholicism  has  held  up  its  appearances  of  power  ?  It 
is  because  from  ancient  times,  in  all  Latin  countries,  it 
has  possessed  itself  of  every  avenue  through  which 
human  life  must  pass." 

**  It  is  true,  no  religion  has  been  so  cautious  as  ours, 
or  has  ambushed  itself  better  to  entrap  men.  None 
has  chosen  with  such  certainty  in  the  time  of  power 
the  positions  it  can  hold  strongly  in  its  decadence.  It 
is  impossible  to  move  without  stumbling  against  her. 
She  knows  of  old  that  man  as  long  as  he  is  healthy,  in 
the  plenitude  of  his  vital  strength,  is  by  instinct  irre- 
ligious. When  he  lives  comfortable  the  so-called 
eternal  life  concerns  him  very  little.  He  only  believes 
in  God  and  fears  Him  in  the  hour  of  supreme  cowardice, 
when  death  opens  before  him   the   bottomless   pit  of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  23r 

nothingness,  and  his  pride  as  a  rational  animal  revolts 
against  the  complete  extinction  of  his  being.  He  wishes 
his  soul  to  be  immortal,  and  so  he  accepts  the  religious 
phantasies  of  heaven  and  hell.  The  Church,  fearing  the 
irreligiousness  of  health,  has  occupied,  as  you  say,  all 
the  avenues  of  life,  so  that  no  man  shall  accustom  him- 
self to  live  without  her,  appealing  solely  to  her  in  the 
hour  of  death.  The  dead  provide  much  money,  they  are 
her  best  asset ;  but  she  wishes  equally  to  reign  over  the 
living.  Nothing  escapes  her  despotism  and  her  spying. 
She  insinuates  herself  into  all  human  concerns  from  the 
greatest  to  the  most  insignificant,  she  interferes  in  both 
public  and  private  life ;  she  baptizes  the  child  when  it 
comes  into  the  world,  accompanies  the  child  to  school, 
monopolises  love,  declaring  it  shameful  and  abominable 
if  it  does  not  submit  to  her  benediction,  and  divides  the 
earth  into  two  categories — the  consecrated,  for  those  who 
die  in  her  bosom,  and  the  dunghill  in  the  open  air  for 
the  heretic.  The  Church  interferes  in  dress,  laying 
down  what  is  honest  and  Christian  wear  and  what  is 
scandalous  frivolity.  She  interferes  in  the  most  inti- 
mate relations  of  domestic  life,  and  even  penetrates  into 
the  kitchen,  turning  Catholicism  into  a  culinary  art, 
ruling  what  ought  to  be  eaten,  what  ought  or  ought  not 
to  be  mixed,  and  anathematizing  certain  foods,  which, 
being  good  enough  the  rest  of  the  year,  become  the 
most  horrible  sacrilege  if  partaken  on  certain  days.  She 
accompanies  a  man  from  his  birth,  and  does  not  leave 
him  even  after  he  is  laid  in  the  tomb ;  she  keeps  him 
chained  by  his  soul,  making  it  wander  through  space, 
passing  from  one  place  to  another,  ascending  the  path- 
way to  heaven,  according  to  the  sacrifices  imposed  on 
themselves  by  his  successors  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Church.  A  greater  or  more  complete  despotism  no 
tyrant  could  possibly  imagine." 


232  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

It  was  midday.  The  bell-ringer  had  disappeared ; 
suddenly  the  rattle  of  chains  and  pulleys  was  heard  and 
a  dull  thunder  made  the  tower  tremble  ;  all  the  stones 
and  metal  and  even  the  surrounding  ether  vibrated. 
The  big  "Gorda"hadjustrung, deafening  the  bystanders. 
A  few  moments  afterwards,  from  the  front  of  the  Alcazar, 
came  the  sound  of  martial  music,  trumpets,  and  drums. 

*'  Let  us  go,"  said  Gabriel.  "  Really,  Mariano  might 
have  warned  us  and  spared  us  this  surprise," 

And  he  added,  smiling  ironically : 

"  It  is  always  the  same  ;  it  is  the  parasites  who  shine 
the  most  and  make  the  most  noise  ;  they  make  up  in 
noise  what  they  lack  in  utility," 

The  festival  of  Corpus  drew  near  without  anything 
occurring  to  ruffle  the  quiet  life  of  the  Cathedral. 
Sometimes  in  the  upper  cloister  they  spoke  of  His 
Eminence's  health.  His  serious  quarrels  with  the  Chapter 
had  obliged  him  to  keep  his  bed,  and  he  had  just  had 
an  attack  which  made  them  fear  for  his  life. 

"  It  is  his  heart,"  said  the  Tato — who  was  usually 
verj"  well  informed  about  things  in  the  palace — "  Dona 
Visita  is  weeping  like  a  Magdalen  and  cursing  the 
canons,  seeing  Don  Sebastian  so  ill." 

As  Wooden  Staff  sat  down  to  table  with  his  family 
he  began  to  speak  of  the  decadence  of  the  feast  of 
Corpus,  which  had  been  so  famous  in  Toledo  in  former 
times.  In  his  desire  to  complain  he  forgot  the  bitter 
silence  he  had  imposed  on  himself  in  his  daughter's 
presence. 

"  You  will  hardly  recognise  our  Corpus,"  he  said  to 
Gabriel.  *'  Of  all  that  we  remember  nothing  remains  but 
the  famous  tapestries  that  are  hung  outside  the 
Cathedral.  The  giants  are  not  drawn  up  before  the 
Puerta  del  Perdon,  and  the  procession  is  shorn  of  its 
glory." 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  233 

The  Chapel-master  also  complained  bitterly. 

"  And  the  mass,  Seiior  Esteban  ?  Just  think  what  a 
mass  for  such  a  solemn  festivity !  Four  instruments  from 
outside  the  house,  and  a  Rossini  mass  of  the  lightest 
description  so  as  not  to  cost  much.  It  would  have 
been  far  better  for  this  to  have  played  the  organ  alone." 

According  to  an  ancient  custom,  on  the  vesper  before 
the  feast,  the  band  of  the  Academy  of  Infantry  played 
in  the  evening  before  the  Cathedral.  All  Toledo  came 
to  hear  the  serenade,  which  was  an  event  in  the 
monotonous  life  of  the  town,  and  from  the  province  of 
Madrid  many  strangers  came  for  the  bull-fight  on  the 
following  day. 

Mariano,  the  bell-ringer,  invited  his  friends  to  listen 
to  the  serenade  from  the  Greco-Roman  gallery  on  the 
principal  front.  At  the  hour  when  the  lights  were 
usually  extinguished  in  the  Claverias  and  Don  Antolin 
locked  the  street  door,  Gabriel  and  his  friends  glided 
cautiously  to  the  bell-ringer's  "  habitacion."  Sagrario 
was  also  persuaded  to  come  by  her  uncle,  who  in  this 
way  managed  to  tear  her  from  her  machine.  She 
really  must  enjoy  some  little  amusement ;  she  ought  to 
appear  in  the  world  now  and  then  ;  she  was  killing 
herself  with  all  that  tiresome  work. 

They  all  sat  in  the  gallery.  The  shoemaker  had 
brought  his  wife,  always  with  a  small  baby  at  her 
flabby  breast.  The  Tato  was  talking  delightedly  to 
the  organ-blower  and  the  verger  about  the  bull-fight  on 
the  following  day,  and  Mariano  stood  by  his  adored 
comrade,  while  his  wife,  a  woman  as  rough  as  himself, 
spoke  with  Sagrario. 

The  men  were  deploring  the  absence  of  Don  Martin. 
Probably  he  had  gone  down  below  among  the  people 
who  filled  the  square,  doubtless  dreading  that  he  must 
be  up  before  daybreak  to  say  mass  to  the  nuns. 


234  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  palace  of  the  Ayuntamiento  was  decorated  with 
strings  of  light,  which  were  reflected  on  to  the  facade 
of  the  Cathedral,  giving  the  stones  a  rosy  flush  as  of 
fire. 

Among  the  trees  walked  groups  of  girls  with  flowers 
and  white  blouses,  like  the  first  appearances  of  spring. 
The  cadets  followed  them,  their  hands  on  the  pommels 
of  their  swords,  walking  along  with  their  pinched-in 
waists  and  their  full  pantaloons  a  la  Turc.  The  archi- 
episcopal  palace  remained  entirely  closed.  Above  the 
rosy  light  in  the  piazza  spread  the  beautiful  summer 
sky,  clear  and  deep,  spangled  with  innumerable  brilliant 
stars. 

When  the  music  ceased,  and  the  lights  began  to  fade, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Cathedral  felt  unwilling  to  leave 
their  seats.  They  were  very  comfortable  there,  the  night 
was  warm,  and  they,  accustomed  to  the  confinement 
and  the  silence  of  the  Claverias,  felt  the  joy  of  freedom, 
sitting  on  that  balcony  with  Toledo  at  their  feet  and 
the  immensity  of  space  above  them. 

Sagrario,  who  had  never  been  out  of  the  upper 
cloister  since  her  return  to  the  paternal  roof,  looked  at 
the  stars  with  delight. 

"  How  many  stars  !  "  she  murmured  dreamily. 

"  There  are  more  than  usual  to-night,"  said  the  bell- 
ringer.  "The  summer  sky  seems  a  field  of  stars  in 
which  the  harvest  increases  with  the  fine  weather." 

Gabriel  smiled  at  the  simplicity  of  his  companions. 
They  all  wondered  at  God,  so  foreseeing  and  so  thought- 
ful, who  had  made  the  moon  to  give  light  to  men  by 
night,  and  the  stars  so  that  the  darkness  should  not  be 
complete. 

*'  Well,  then,"  inquired  Gabriel,  **  why  is  there  not  a 
moon  always  if  it  was  made  to  give  us  light  ?  " 

There  was  a  long  silence.     They  were  all   thinking 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  235 

over  Gabriel's  question.  The  bell-ringer,  being  most 
intimate  with  the  master,  ventured  to  put  the  question 
about  which  they  were  all  thinking.  "  What  were  the 
heavens,  and  what  was  there  beyond  the  blue  ?  " 

The  square  was  now  deserted  and  in  darkness,  there 
was  no  light  but  the  gentle  shimmering  of  the  stars 
scattered  in  space  like  golden  dust.  From  the  immense 
vault  there  seemed  to  fall  a  religious  calm,  an  over- 
whelming majesty  that  stirred  the  souls  of  those  simple 
people.  The  infinite  seemed  to  bewilder  them  with  its 
vast  grandeur. 

"You,"  said  Gabriel,  "have  your  eyes  closed  to 
immensity,  you  cannot  understand  it.  You  have  been 
taught  a  wretched  and  rudimentary  origin  of  the  world, 
imagined  by  a  few  ragged  and  ignorant  Jews  in  a 
corner  of  Asia,  which,  having  been  written  in  a  book, 
has  been  accepted  down  to  our  days.  This  personal 
God,  like  to  ourselves  in  His  shape  and  passions,  is  an 
artificer  of  gigantic  capacity,  who  worked  six  days  and 
made  everything  existing.  On  the  first  day  He  created 
light,  and  on  the  fourth  the  sun  and  stars ;  from  whence 
then  came  that  light  if  the  sun  had  not  then  been 
created  ?  Is  there  any  distinction  between  one  and 
the  other  ?  It  seems  impossible  that  such  absurdities 
should  have  been  credited  for  centuries." 

The  listeners  nodded  their  heads  in  assent ;  the 
absurdity  appeared  to  them  palpable — as  it  always  did 
when  Gabriel  spoke. 

"  If  you  wish  to  penetrate  the  heavens,"  continued 
Luna,  "you  must  get  rid  of  the  human  conception  of 
distance.  Man  measures  everything  by  his  own  stature, 
and  he  conceives  dimensions  by  the  distance  his  eyes 
can  reach.  This  Cathedral  seems  to  us  enormous 
because  underneath  its  naves  we  seem  like  ants  ;  but, 
nevertheless,  the   Cathedral  seen  from   far  is  only  an 


236  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

insignificant  wart ;  compared  with  the  piece  of  land  we 
call  Spain  it  is  less  than  a  grain  of  sand,  and  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  it  is  a  mere  atom — nothing.  Our 
sight  makes  us  consider  thirty  or  forty  yards  a  dizzy 
height.  At  this  moment  we  think  we  are  very  high 
because  we  are  near  the  roof  of  the  Cathedral,  but 
compared  to  the  infinite  this  height  is  as  small  as  when 
an  ant  balances  on  the  top  of  a  pebble  not  knowing 
how  to  come  down.  Our  sight  is  short,  and  we  who 
can  only  measure  by  yards,  and  apprehend  short 
distances,  must  make  an  immense  effort  of  imagination 
to  realise  infinity.  Even  then  it  escapes  us  and  we 
speak  of  it  very  often  as  of  a  thing  that  has  no  meaning. 
How  shall  I  make  you  understand  the  immensity  of  the 
world  ?  You  must  not  believe,  as  our  ancestors  did, 
that  the  earth  is  flat  and  stationary  and  that  the 
heaven  is  a  crystal  dome  on  which  God  has  fastened 
the  stars  like  golden  nails,  and  in  which  the  sun  and 
moon  move  to  give  us  light,  you  must  understand  that 
the  earth  is  round,  and  whirls  round  in  space." 

"  Yes,  we  do  know  a  little  about  that,"  said  the  bell- 
ringer  doubtfully,  "  for  we  were  taught  so  at  school. 
But,  really,  do  you  think  it  moves  ?  " 

"  Because  in  your  littleness  as  human  beings,  because 
to  our  microscopic  mole-like  sight  the  immense 
mechanism  of  the  world  is  lost,  do  not  for  a  moment 
doubt  it.  The  earth  turns.  Without  moving  from 
where  you  are,  in  twenty-four  hours  you  will  have  made 
the  complete  circuit  with  the  globe.  Without  moving 
our  feet  we  rush  along  at  the  rate  of  four  hundred 
leagues  an  hour,  a  velocity  that  the  fastest  trains  cannot 
attain.  You  are  astonished  ?  We  rush  along  without 
knowing  it.  Our  planet  does  not  only  turn  on  itself, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  turns  round  the  sun  at  the  rate 
of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  miles    an  hour.      Every 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  237 

second  we  cover  thirty  thousand  miles.  Men  have  never 
invented  a  cannon  ball  that  could  fly  so  quickly.  You 
move  through  space  fixed  to  a  projectile  which  whirls 
with  dizzy  speed,  and,  deceived  by  your  smallness,  you 
think  you  are  living  immovable  in  a  dead  cathedral. 
And  this  velocity  is  as  nothing  compared  with  others. 
The  sun  round  which  we  turn,  flies  and  flies  through 
space,  carrying  on  by  its  attraction  the  earth  and  the 
other  planets.  It  goes  through  immensity,  dragging  us 
along,  travelling  towards  the  unknown,  without  ever 
striking  other  bodies,  finding  always  sufficient  space  to 
move  in  with  a  rapidity  which  makes  one  giddy  ;  and 
this  has  gone  on  for  thousands  and  millions  of  cen- 
turies without  either  it  or  the  earth  who  follows  it 
in  its  flight  ever  passing  twice  over  the  same  spot." 

They  all  listened  to  Gabriel  open-mouthed  with 
astonishment,  and  their  bright  eyes  seemed  dazed  and 
bewildered. 

"  It  is  enough  to  drive  one  mad,"  murmured  the 
bell-ringer.     "  What  then  is  man,  Gabriel  ?  " 

"  Nothing  ;  even  as  this  earth,  which  seems  so  large, 
and  that  we  have  peopled  with  religions,  kingdoms  and 
revelations  from  God,  is  nothing.  Dreams  of  ants  !  even 
less !  This  same  sun  which  seems  so  enormous  com- 
pared to  our  globe  is  nothing  more  than  an  atom  in 
immensity.  What  you  call  stars  are  other  suns  like 
ours,  surrounded  by  planets  like  our  earth,  but  which 
are  invisible  on  account  of  their  small  size.  How  many 
are  they  ?  Man  brings  his  optical  instruments  to  per- 
fection and  is  able  to  pierce  further  into  the  fields  of 
heaven,  discovering  ever  more  and  more.  Those  which 
are  scarcely  visible  in  the  infinite  appear  much  nearer 
when  a  new  telescope  is  invented,  and  beyond  them  in 
the  depths  of  space  others  and  again  others  appear,  and 


238  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

so  on  everlastingly.  They  are  uncountable.  Some  are 
worlds  inhabited  like  ours ;  others  were  so,  and  revolve 
solitary  in  space,  waiting  for  a  fresh  evolution  of  life ; 
many  are  still  forming ;  and  yet  all  these  worlds  are  no 
more  than  corpuscles  of  the  luminous  mist  of  the 
infinite.  Space  is  peopled  by  fires  that  have  burnt  for 
millions,  trillions  and  quadrillionsof  centuries,  throwing 
out  heat  and  light.  The  milky  way  is  nothing  but  a 
cloud  of  stars  that  seem  to  us  as  one  mass,  but  which  in 
reality  are  so  far  apart  that  thousands  of  suns  like  ours 
with  all  their  planets  could  revolve  among  them  without 
ever  coming  into  collision." 

Gabriel  remembered  the  travelling  of  sound  and  light. 
"  Their  velocity  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  dis- 
tances in  space.  The  sun,  which  is  the  nearest  to  us,  is 
still  so  far  that  for  a  sound  to  go  from  us  to  it  would 
take  three  millions  of  years.  Poor  human  beings  will 
never  be  able  to  travel  with  the  rapidity  of  sound. 

"  These  suns  travel  like  ours  towards  the  unknown 
with  giddy  flight,  but  they  are  so  distant  that  three  or 
four  thousand  years  may  pass  without  man  being  aware 
that  they  have  moved  more  than  a  finger's  breadth.  The 
distances  of  infinity  are  maddening.  The  sun  is  a 
nebula  of  inflammatory  gas,  and  the  earth  an  imper- 
ceptible molecule  of  sand. 

"  The  luminous  ray  of  the  Polar  star  requires  half  a 
century  to  reach  our  eyes  ;  it  might  have  disappeared 
forty-nine  years  ago,  and  still  we  should  see  it  in  space. 

*'  And  all  these  worlds  are  created,  grow  and  die  like 
human  beings.  In  space  there  is  no  more  rest  than  on 
earth.  Some  stars  are  extinguished,  others  vary,  and 
others  shine  with  all  the  power  of  their  young  life.  The 
dead  planets  dissolved  by  fires  furnish  the  material 
for  new  worlds ;    it  is  a  perpetual  renewal  of  forms, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  239 

throughout  millions  and  millions  of  centuries,  that  repre- 
sent in  their  lives  what  the  few  dozen  years  to  which  we 
are  limited,  are  in  our  own.  And  beyond  all  those  incal- 
culable distances  there  is  space,  and  more  space  on 
every  side,  with  fresh  conglomerations  of  worlds  without 
limit  or  end." 

Gabriel  spoke  in  the  midst  of  solemn  silence.  The 
listeners  closed  their  eyes  as  if  such  immensity  stunned 
them.  They  followed  in  imagination  Gabriel's  descrip- 
tion, but  their  narrowed  minds  wished  to  place  a  term 
to  the  infinite,  and  in  their  simplicity  they  imagined 
beyond  these  incalculable  distances  a  vault  of  firm 
matter  millions  of  leagues  thick.  Surely  all  that  strange 
and  fantastic  work  must  have  a  limit.  What  was  at 
the  back  of  it  ?  And  the  barrier  created  by  their 
imagination  fell  suddenly  ;  and  again  they  flew  through 
space,  always  infinite,  with  ever  new  worlds. 

Gabriel  spoke  of  them  and  of  their  life  with  absolute 
certainty.  Spectral  analysis  showed  the  same  compo- 
sition in  the  stars  as  on  the  earth,  consequently  if  life 
had  arisen  in  our  atom,  most  certainly  it  must  exist  in 
other  celestial  bodies,  though  probably  in  different 
forms ;  in  many  planets  it  had  already  ended,  in  many 
it  was  still  to  come ;  but  surely  all  those  millions  of 
worlds  had  had,  or  would  have,  life. 

Religions,  wishing  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  world, 
paled  and  trembled  before  the  infinite.  It  was  like  the 
Cathedral  tower,  which  covered  with  its  bulk  a  great 
part  of  the  heavens,  hiding  millions  of  worlds,  but 
which  was  of  insignificant  size  compared  to  the 
immensity  it  hid,  less  than  an  infinitesimal  part  of  a 
molecule — nothing.  It  seemed  very  great  because  it 
was  close  to  men,  concealing  immensity,  but  when 
men  looked  above  it,  getting  a  full  grasp  of  the  infinite, 
they  laughed  at  its  Lilliputian  pride. 


240  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"Then,"  inquired  timidly  the  old  organ-blower, 
pointing  to  the  Cathedral,  "  what  is  it  they  teach  us  in 
there  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Gabriel. 

"  And  what  are  we — men  ?  "  asked  the  Perrcro. 

"Nothing." 

"  And  the  governments,  the  laws,  and  the  customs  of 
society  ?  "  inquired  the  bell-ringer. 

"  Nothing.     Nothing." 

Sagrario  fixed  her  eyes,  grown  larger  by  her  earnest 
contemplation  of  the  heavens,  on  her  uncle. 

"And  God,"  she  asked  in  a  soft  voice;  "where  is 
God?" 

Gabriel  stood  up,  leaning  on  the  balustrade  of  the 
gallery  ;  his  figure  stood  out  dark  and  clear  against  the 
starry  space. 

**  We  are  God  ourselves,  and  ever}'thing  that 
surrounds  us.  It  is  life  with  its  astonishing  trans- 
formations, always  apparently  dying,  yet  always  being 
infinitely  renewed.  It  is  this  immensity  that  astounds 
us  with  its  greatness,  and  that  cannot  be  realised  in  our 
minds.  It  is  matter  that  lives,  animated  by  the  force 
that  dwells  in  it,  with  absolute  unity,  without  separa- 
tion or  duality.  Man  is  God,  and  the  world  is  God 
also." 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment  and  then  added  with 
energy : 

"  But  if  you  ask  me  for  that  personal  God  invented 
by  religions,  in  the  likeness  of  a  man,  who  brought  the 
world  out  of  nothing,  who  directs  our  actions,  who 
classifies  souls  according  to  their  merits,  and  com- 
missions Sons  to  descend  into  the  world  to  redeem  it, 
I  say  seek  for  Him  in  that  immensity,  see  where  He 
hides  His  littleness.  But  even  if  you  were  immortal 
you  might  spend  millions  of  years  passing   from  one 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  241 

star  to  another  without  ever  finding  the  corner  where 
He  hides  His  deposed  despotic  majesty.  This  vindictive 
and  capricious  God  arose  in  men's  brains,  and  the  brain 
is  a  human  being's  most  recent  organ,  the  last  to  develop 
itself.  When  man  invented  God  the  world  had  existed 
millions  of  years." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

On  the  morning  of  Corpus  the  first  person  Gabriel 
saw  on  leaving  the  cloister  was  Don  Antolin,  who  was 
looking  over  his-tickets,  placing  them  in  line  in  front  of 
him  on  the  stone  balustrade. 

"  This  is  a  great  day,"  said  Luna,  wishing  to  smooth 
down  Silver  Stick.  "  You  are  preparing  for  a  great 
crowd ;  no  doubt  many  strangers  will  come." 

Don  Antolin  looked  intently  at  Gabriel,  evidently 
doubting  his  sincerity ;  but  seeing  that  he  was  not 
laughing,  he  answered  with  a  certain  satisfaction. 

"  The  feast  is  not  beginning  badly  ;  there  are  a  great 
many  who  wish  to  see  our  treasures.  Ay,  son  !  indeed 
we  want  it  badly.  You  who  rejoice  in  our  troubles 
may  be  satisfied.  We  live  in  horrible  straits.  Our 
feast  of  Corpus  is  worth  very  little  compared  with 
former  times ;  but  all  the  same,  what  economies  we 
have  had  to  make  in  the  Obreria,  to  provide  the  four 
ochavos^  that  the  extra  festivity  will  cost !  " 

Don  Antolin  remained  silent  for  some  time,  still 
looking  intently  at  Luna,  as  though  some  extraordinary 
idea  had  just  occurred  to  him.  At  first  he  frowned  as 
though  he  were  rejecting  it,  but  little  by  little  his  face 
lit  up  with  a  malicious  smile. 

"  By  the  way,  Gabriel,"  he  said  in  a  honeyed  tone 
which  contained  something  very  aggressive,  "  I  remem- 
ber at  the  time  of  the  monument  in  Holy  Week  you 

*  Ochavo — small  Spanish  brass  coin,  value  two  maravedis. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  243 

spoke  to  me  of  your  wish  to  earn  some  money  for  your 
brother.  Now  you  have  an  opportunity.  It  will  not 
be  much ;  still  it  will  be  something.  Would  you  care 
to  be  one  of  those  who  carry  the  platform  of  the 
Sacrament  ?  " 

Guessing  the  wish  of  the  malicious  priest  to  annoy 
him,  Gabriel  was  on  the  point  of  answering  haughtily, 
but  suddenly  he  was  tempted  by  the  wish  to  foil  Silver 
Stick  by  accepting  his  proposal  ;  he  wished  to  astound 
him  by  acceding  to  his  absurd  idea;  besides,  he  thought 
that  this  would  be  a  sacrifice  worthy  of  the  generosity 
with  which  his  brother  treated  him.  Even  though 
he  could  not  assist  with  much  money,  he  could  show 
his  wish  to  work,  and  the  scruples  of  his  self-love 
vanished  before  the  hope  of  carrying  home  a  couple  of 
pesetas. 

"  You  do  not  care  about  it,"  said  the  priest  in  mocking 
accents,  "  you  are  too  'green,'  and  your  dignity  would 
suffer  too  much  by  carrying  the  Lord  through  the  streets 
of  Toledo." 

"  You  are  mistaken.  As  for  wishing  it,  I  do  wish  it, 
but  you  must  remember  it  is  very  heavy  work  for  an 
invalid." 

"  Do  not  let  that  trouble  you,"  said  Don  Antolin 
resolutely ;  "  you  will  be  at  least  ten  inside  the  car,  and 
I  have  chosen  all  strong  men  ;  you  would  go  to  com- 
plete the  number,  and  I  should  recommend  you  to 
accept  in  order  to  earn  a  little." 

"  Then  we  will  clench  the  business,  Don  Antolin  ;  you 
may  reckon  on  me,  I  am  always  ready  to  earn  a  day's 
wage  whenever  it  turns  up." 

His  great  wish  to  get  out  of  the  Cathedral  had  finally 
decided  him,  his  wish  once  more  to  walk  through  the 
the  streets  of  Toledo,  that  he  had  not  seen  during  his 
seclusion  in  the  cloister,  and  without  anyone  being  able 

R  2 


244  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

to  take  notice  of  him.  Besides,  the  ironical  situation 
tickled  him  extremely,  that  he  of  all  men  with  his 
round  religious  denials  should  be  the  one  to  pilot  the 
God  of  Catholicism  through  the  devout  crowd. 

This  spectacle  made  him  smile,  possibly  it  was  a 
symbol ;  certainly  Wooden  Staff  would  greatly  rejoice, 
he  would  look  upon  it  as  a  small  triumph  for  religion, 
that  obliged  His  enemies  to  carry  Him  on  their 
shoulders.  But  he  himself  would  look  upon  it  in  a 
different  way ;  inside  the  eucharistic  car  he  would 
represent  the  doubt  and  denials  hidden  in  the  heart  of 
worship,  splendid  in  its  exterior  pomp,  but  void  of 
faith  and  ideals. 

"  Then  we  are  agreed,  Don  Antolin.  I  will  come 
down  shortly  into  the  Cathedral." 

They  parted,  and  Gabriel,  after  quietly  digesting  the 
milk  his  niece  brought  him,  went  down  into  the  Cathe- 
dral without  saying  a  word  to  anyone  about  the  work 
he  intended  carrying  out ;  he  was  afraid  of  his  brother's 
objections. 

In  the  lower  cloister  he  again  met  Silver  Stick,  who 
was  talking  to  the  gardener's  widow,  showing  her  con- 
temptuously a  bunch  of  wheat  ears  tied  with  a  red 
ribbon.  He  had  found  it  in  the  holy  water  stoup  by 
the  Puerta  del  Alegria.  Every  year  on  the  day  of 
Corpus  he  had  found  the  same  offering  in  the  same 
place ;  an  unknown  had  thus  dedicated  to  the  Church 
the  first  wheat  of  the  year. 

"  It  must  be  a  madman,"  said  the  priest.  "  What  is 
the  good  of  this  ?  What  does  this  bunch  mean  ?  If  at 
least  it  had  been  a  cart  of  sheaves  as  in  the  good  old 
times  of  the  tenths  !  " 

And  while  he  threw  the  ears  with  contempt  into  a 
flower  border  in  the  garden,  Gabriel  thought  with 
delight  of  the  atavic  force  which  had  resuscitated  in  a 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  245 

Catholic  church,  the  pagan  offering  :  the  homage  to  the 
divinity  of  the  firstfruits  of  the  earth  fertiHsed  by  the 
spring. 

The  choir  was  ended  and  the  mass  beginning  when 
Gabriel  entered  the  Cathedral,  the  lower  servants  were 
discussing  at  the  door  of  the  sacristy  the  great  event 
of  the  day.  His  Eminence  had  not  come  down  to  the 
choir  and  would  not  assist  at  the  procession.  He  said 
he  was  ill,  but  those  of  the  household  laughed  at  this 
excuse,  remembering  that  the  evening  before  he  had 
walked  as  far  as  the  Hermitage  of  the  Virgin  de  la 
Vega.  The  truth  was  he  would  not  meet  his  Chapter  ; 
he  was  furious  with  them,  and  showed  his  anger  by 
refusing  to  preside  over  them  in  the  choir. 

Gabriel  strolled  through  the  naves.  The  congrega- 
tion of  the  faithful  was  greater  than  on  other  days,  but 
even  so  the  Cathedral  seemed  deserted.  In  the  cross- 
ways,  kneeling  between  the  choir  and  the  high  altar, 
were  several  nuns  in  starched  linen  bibs  and  pointed 
hoods,  in  charge  of  sundry  groups  of  children  dressed  in 
black,  with  red  or  blue  stripes  according  to  the  colleges 
to  which  they  belonged ;  a  few  officials  from  the 
academy,  fat  and  bald,  listened  to  the  mass  standing, 
bending  their  heads  over  their  cuirass.  In  this  scat- 
tered assemblage,  listening  to  the  music,  stood  out  the 
pupils  from  the  school  of  noble  ladies,  some  of  them 
quite  girls,  others  proud-looking  young  women  in  all 
the  pride  of  their  budding  beauty,  looking  on  with 
glowing  eyes,  all  dressed  in  black  silk,  with  mantillas 
of  blonde  mounted  over  high  combs  with  bunches  of 
roses — aristocratic  ladies  with  "  manolesca  "  grace, 
escaped  from  a  picture  by  Goya. 

Gabriel  saw  his  nephew  the  Tato  dressed  in  his  scarlet 
robes  like  the  noble  Florentine,  striking  the  pavement 
with  his  staff  to  scare  the  dogs.    He  was  talking  with  a 


246  THE    SHADOW    OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

group  of  shepherds  from  the  mountains,  swarthy  men 
twisted  and  gnarled  as  vine  shoots,  in  brown  jackets, 
leather  sandals,  and  thonged  leggings  ;  women  with  red 
kerchiefs  and  greasy  and  mended  garments  that  had 
descended  through  several  generations.  They  had 
come  down  from  their  mountains  to  see  the  Corpus  of 
Toledo,  and  they  walked  through  the  naves  with  wonder 
in  their  eyes,  starting  at  the  sound  of  their  own  foot- 
steps, trembling  each  time  the  organ  rolled,  as  though 
fearing  to  be  turned  out  of  that  magic  palace,  which 
seemed  to  them  like  one  in  a  fair\'  tale.  The  women 
pointed  out  with  their  fingers  the  coloured  glass 
windows,  the  great  rosettes  on  the  porches,  the  gilded 
warriors  on  the  clock  of  the  Puerta  de  la  Feria,  the 
tubes  of  the  organs,  and  finally  remained  open-mouthed 
in  stupid  wonder.  The  Perrero  in  his  scarlet  garments 
seemed  like  a  prince  to  them,  and  overwhelmed  with 
the  respect  they  felt  for  him,  they  could  not  succeed  in 
understanding  what  he  said,  but  when  the  Tato  threat- 
ened with  his  staff  a  mastiff  following  closely  at  his 
master's  heels,  those  simple  people  decided  to  leave  the 
church  sooner  than  abandon  the  faithful  companion  of 
their  wild  mountain  life. 

Gabriel  looked  through  the  choir  railings ;  both  the 
upper  and  lower  stalls  were  full.  It  was  a  great  festival, 
and  not  only  were  all  the  canons  and  beneficiaries  in 
their  places,  but  all  the  priests  of  the  chapel  of  the 
kings,^  and  the  prebends  of  the  Muzarabe  chapel — those 
two  small  churches  who  live  quite  apart  with  traditional 
autonomy  inside  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo. 

In  the  middle  of  the  choir  Luna  saw  his  friend  the 
Chapel-master  in  his  crimped  and  pleated  surplice, 
waving  a  small  baton.    Around  him  were  grouped  about 

*  The  kings  of  Spain  are  canons  of  Toledo  Cathedral,  and  are 
fined  in  case  of  absence  on  festival  davs. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  247 

a  dozen  musicians  and  singers,  whose  voices  and 
instruments  were  completely  smothered  each  time  the 
organ  sounded  from  above,  while  the  priest  directed 
with  a  resigned  look  the  music,  which  lost  itself  feeble 
and  swamped  in  the  solitude  of  the  immense  naves. 

At  the  High  Altar,  on  its  square  car,  stood  the  famous 
Custodia,  executed  by  the  celebrated  master  Villalpando. 
A  Gothic  shrine,  exquisitely  worked  and  chiselled,  bright 
with  the  shimmering  of  its  gold  in  the  light  of  the  wax 
tapers,  and  of  such  delicate  and  airy  work  that  the 
the  slightest  motion  made  it  shiver,  shaking  its  finials 
like  ears  of  corn. 

Those  invited  to  the  procession  were  arriving  in  the 
Cathedral.  The  town  dignitaries  in  black  robes,  pro- 
fessors from  the  academy  in  full  dress  with  all  their 
decorations,  officers  of  the  Civil  Guard,  whose  quaint 
uniform  reminded  one  of  that  of  the  soldiers  of  the  early 
part  of  the  century.  Through  the  naves  with  affectedly 
skipping  steps  came  the  children,  dressed  as  angels — 
angels  d  la  Pompadour,  with  brocaded  coat,  red-heeled 
shoes,  blonde  lace  frills,  tin  wings  fastened  to  their 
shoulders,  and  mitres  with  plumes  on  their  white  wigs. 
The  Primacy  got  out  for  this  festivity  all  its  traditional 
vestments.  The  gala  uniform  of  all  the  church  attend- 
ants belonged  to  the  eighteenth  century,  the  time  of  its 
greatest  prosperity.  The  two  men  who  were  to  guide 
the  car  had  powdered  hair,  black  coats,  and  knee 
breeches,  like  the  priests  of  the  last  century.  The  vergers 
and  Wooden  Staffs  wore  starched  ruffs  and  perukes, 
and  though  they  had  scarcely  enough  to  eat,  brocade 
and  velvet  covered  all  the  people  from  the  Claverias  ; 
even  the  acolytes  wore  gold  embroidered  dalmatics. 

The  High  Altar  was  decorated  by  the  "  Tanta  Monta  " 
tapestries — those  famous  hangings  of  the  Catholic 
kings,  with  emblems  and  shields,  given  by  Cisneros  to 


248  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

the  Cathedral.  The  auxiliary  bishop  said  mass,  and 
his  attendant  deacons  were  perspiring  under  the 
traditional  mantles  and  chasubles  covered  with  beautiful 
raised  embroidery  in  high  and  splendid  relief,  as  stiff 
and  uncomfortable  as  ancient  armour. 

The  surroundings  of  the  Cathedral  were  disturbed  by 
the  gathering  for  the  procession ;  the  doors  of  the 
sacristies  slammed,  opened  and  shut  hurriedly  by  the 
various  officials  and  people  employed.  In  that  quiet 
and  monotonous  life  the  annual  occurrence  of  a  pro- 
cession which  had  to  pass  through  many  streets  caused 
as  much  confusion  and  disturbance  as  an  adventurous 
expedition  to  a  distant  country. 

When  the  mass  ended  the  organ  began  to  play  a 
noisy  and  disorderly  march,  rather  like  a  savage  dance, 
while  the  procession  was  being  marshalled  in  order. 
Outside  the  Cathedral  the  bells  were  ringing,  the  band 
of  the  academy  had  ceased  playing  its  quick  march,  and 
the  officers'  words  of  command  and  the  rattle  of  the 
muskets  could  be  heard  as  the  cadets  drew  up  in 
companies  by  the  Puerta  Liana. 

Don  Antolin,  with  his  great  silver  staff  and  a  pluvial 
of  white  brocade,  went  from  one  place  to  another  col- 
lecting the  employees  of  the  Church;  Gabriel  saw  him 
approaching,  red-faced  and  perspiring. 

"  To  your  post;  it  is  time." 

And  he  led  him  to  the  High  Altar  by  the  Custodia. 
Gabriel  and  eight  other  men  crept  inside  the  scaffolding, 
raising  the  cloth  with  which  its  sides  were  covered.  They 
were  obliged  to  bend  themselves  inside  the  erection,  and 
their  duty  was  to  push  it,  so  that  it  should  move  along  on 
its  hidden  wheels.  Their  only  duty  was  to  push  it;  out- 
side, the  two  servants  in  black  clothes  and  white  wigs 
were  in  charge  of  the  front  and  back  shaft  or  tiller,  which 
guided  the  eucharistic  car  through  the  tortuous  streets. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  249 

Gabriel  was  placed  by  his  companions  in  the  centre;  he 
was  to  warn  them  when  to  stop  and  when  to  recommence 
their  march.  The  monumental  Custodia  was  mounted 
on  a  platform  with  a  great  counterpoise,  and  between 
it  and  the  framework  of  the  car  was  about  a  hand's 
breadth  of  space,  through  which  Gabriel  looked,  thus 
transmitting  the  orders  of  the  front  pilot. 

"Attention!  March  !"  shouted  Gabriel,  obeying  an 
outside  signal. 

And  the  sacred  car  began  to  move  slowly  down  the 
inclined  wooden  plane  that  covered  the  steps  of  the 
High  Altar.  It  was  obliged  to  stop  on  passing  the  rail- 
ings. All  the  people  knelt,  and  Don  Antolin  and  the 
Wooden  Staffs  having  opened  a  way  between  them,  the 
canons  advanced  in  their  ample  red  robes,  the  auxiliary 
bishop  with  his  gilded  mitre,  and  the  other  dignitaries 
in  white  linen  mitres  without  ornament  whatsoever. 
They  all  knelt  around  the  Custodia.  The  organ  was  silent, 
and,  accompanied  by  the  hoarse  blare  of  a  trombone, 
they  intoned  a  hymn  in  adoration  of  the  Sacrament ; 
the  incense  rose  in  blue  clouds  around  the  Custodia,  veil- 
ing the  brilliancy  of  its  gold.  When  the  hymn  ceased 
the  organ  began  to  play  again,  and  the  car  once  more 
resumed  its  march.  The  Custodia  trembled  from  base 
to  summit,  and  the  motion  made  a  quantity  of  little 
bells  hanging  on  to  its  Gothic  adornments  tinkle  like  a 
cascade  of  silver.  Gabriel  walked  along  holding  on  to 
one  of  the  crossbeams,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  pilots, 
feeling  on  his  legs  the  movements  of  those  who  pushed 
this  scaffolding,  so  similar  to  the  cars  of  Indian  idols. 

On  coming  out  of  the  Cathedral  by  the  Puerta  Liana, 
the  only  door  in  the  church  on  a  level  with  the  street, 
Gabriel  could  take  in  the  whole  procession  at  a  glance. 
He  could  see  the  horses  of  the  Civil  Guards  breaking 
the  regularity  of  the  march,  the    players    of  the   city 


250  THE  SHADOW  Ol-  THE  CATHEDRAL 

kettledrums  dressed  in  red,  and  the  crosses  of  the 
different  parishes  grouped  without  order  round  the 
enormous  and  extremely  heavy  banner  of  the  Cathedral, 
like  a  huge  sail  covered  with  embroidered  figures. 
Beyond,  all  the  centre  of  the  street  was  clear,  flanked  on 
either  side  by  rows  of  clergy  and  soldiers  carrying  tapers, 
the  deacons  with  their  censers,  assisted  by  the  roccoco 
angels  carrying  the  vessels  for  the  Asiatic  perfume,  and 
the  canons  in  their  extremely  valuable  historical  capes. 
Behind  the  sacrament  were  grouped  the  authorities,  and 
the  battalion  of  cadets  brought  up  the  rear,  their 
muskets  on  their  arms,  their  shaven  heads  bare,  keeping 
step  to  the  time  of  the  march. 

Gabriel  breathed  with  delight  the  air  of  the  public 
streets.  He  who  had  seen  all  the  great  capitals  of  Europe 
admired  the  streets  of  the  ancient  city  after  his  long 
seclusion  in  the  Cathedral.  They  seemed  to  him  very 
populous,  and  he  felt  the  surprise  that  great  modern 
improvements  must  cause  to  those  used  to  a  retired  and 
sedentary  life. 

The  balconies  were  hung  with  ancient  tapestries  and 
shawls  from  Manilla;  the  streets  were  covered  with 
awnings,  and  the  pavement  spread  thickly  with  sand,  so 
that  the  eucharistic  car  should  glide  easily  over  the 
pointed  cobble  stones. 

Up  the  hills  the  Custodia  advanced  laboriously,  the 
men  inside  the  car  sweating  and  gasping.  Gabriel 
coughed,  his  spine  aching  with  the  enclosure  in  the 
movable  prison,  and  the  dignity  of  the  march  was 
disturbed  by  the  words  of  command  from  the  Canon 
Obrero,  who,  in  scarlet  robes  with  a  staff  in  his  hand, 
directed  the  procession,  reproving  the  pilots  and  those 
who  pushed  the  car  inside  for  their  jerky  and  irregular 
movements. 

Apart  from  these  discomforts,  Gabriel  was  delighted 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  251 

with  his  extraordinary  escapade  through  the  town  ;  he 
laughed,  thinking  what  the  crowd,  kneehng  in  venera- 
tion, would  have  said  had  they  known  whose  eyes  were 
looking  out  at  them  from  underneath  the  car.  No 
doubt  many  of  those  officials  escorting  God,  in  their 
white  trousers,  red  coats,  with  swords  by  their  sides  and 
cocked  hats  would  have  news  of  his  existence ;  they 
would  surely  have  heard  some  one  speak  of  him,  and 
they  probably  kept  his  name  in  their  memory  as  that 
of  a  social  enemy.  And  this  reprobate,  rejected  by  all, 
concealed  in  a  hole  in  the  Cathedral  like  those  adven- 
turous birds  who  rested  in  its  vaultings,  was  the  man 
who  was  guiding  the  footsteps  of  God  through  this  most 
religious  city  ! 

A  little  after  midday  the  Custodia  returned  to  the 
Cathedral,  passing  in  front  of  the  Puerta  del  Mollete. 
Gabriel  saw  the  exterior  walls  hung  with  the  famous 
tapestries.  As  soon  as  the  farewell  hymns  were  ended 
the  canons  despoiled  themselves  quickly  of  their  vest- 
ments, rushing  to  the  door  on  their  dismissal  without 
saluting.  They  were  going  to  their  dinners  much  later 
than  usual,  as  this  extraordinary  day  upset  the  even 
course  of  their  lives.  The  church,  so  noisy  and  illumi- 
nated in  the  morning,  emptied  itself  rapidly,  and  silence 
and  twilight  once  more  reigned  in  it. 

Esteban  was  furious  when  he  saw  Gabriel  emerging 
from  the  eucharistic  car. 

"  You  will  kill  yourself,  such  work  is  not  for  you. 
What  caprice  could  have  seized  you  ?  " 

Gabriel  laughed.  Yes,  it  was  a  caprice,  but  he  did 
not  repent  of  it.  He  had  taken  a  turn  through  the  town 
without  being  seen,  and  he  could  give  his  brother 
sufficient  for  two  days'  maintenance  ;  he  wished  to  work, 
not  to  be  a  heavy  charge  on  him. 

Wooden  Staff  was  softened. 


252  THE    SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

"  You  idiot,  have  I  asked  anything  of  you  ?  Do  I 
want  anything  else  but  that  you  should  live  quietly  and 
get  better  ?  " 

But,  as  though  he  wished  to  acknowledge  this  exertion 
on  his  brother's  part  by  something  which  would  please 
him,  when  he  returned  to  the  Claverias  he  dropped 
his  usual  sullen  face,  and  spoke  to  his  daughter  during 
the  meal. 

Towards  evening  the  Claverias  were  quite  deserted. 
Don  Antolin  hurried  down  with  his  tickets,  rejoicing  in 
the  knowledge  that  many  strangers  were  waiting  for  him. 
The  Tato  and  the  bell-ringer  had  slipped  furtively  down 
the  tower  stairs,  dressed  in  their  best  clothes ;  they  were 
going  to  the  bull-fight.  Sagrario  obliged  to  be  idle  in 
order  to  keep  the  feast  day  holy,  had  gone  to  the  shoe- 
maker's house,  and  while  he  was  showing  the  giants  to 
the  servants  and  soldiers  of  the  academy,  and  the 
peasants  from  the  country,  Luna's  niece  helped  to 
mend  the  clothes  for  the  poor  woman  crushed  by 
poverty  and  the  superabundance  of  children. 

When  the  Chapel-master  and  the  Wooden  Staff  went 
down  to  the  choir,  Gabriel  went  out  into  the  cloister.  He 
could  only  see  there  a  cadet  who  was  walking  up  and 
down,  with  his  hand  on  the  pommel  of  his  sword,  holding 
it  horizontally  like  the  fiery  tizonas  ^  of  former  days. 
Luna  recognised  him  by  the  full  pantaloons  and  the 
wasplike  waist,  which  made  the  Tato  declare  that  this 
particular,cadetwore  stays — it  was  Juanitothe  cardinal's 
nephew.  He  often  walked  in  the  cloister,  hoping  for 
an  opportunity  to  talk  with  Leocadia,  the  beautiful 
daughter  of  the  Virgin's  sacristan.  From  the  parents  he 
had  nothing  to  fear,  but  the  future  warrior  had  a  certain 
dread  of  Tomasa,  as  the  old  lady  looked  on  these  visits 

*  Tizona — name  of  the  Cids  sword. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  253 

with  an  evil  eye,  and  threatened  to  make  them  known  to 
his  uncle  the  Cardinal. 

Gabriel  had  often  spoken  to  the  cadet,  for  when  the 
youth  met  him  in  the  cloister  he  always  stopped  to 
speak,  endeavouring  by  the  platitudes  of  his  conversa- 
tion to  justify  his  presence  in  the  Claverias ;  but  Luna 
was  surprised  to  meet  him  there  on  a  festival  afternoon. 

"Are  you  not  going  to  the  bull-fight  ?"  he  inquired. 
"  I  thought  everyone  from  the  academy  would  be  in 
the  Plaza." 

Juanito  smiled,  caressing  his  moustache ;  it  was  his 
favourite  gesture,  as  it  raised  his  arm,  giving  him  the 
satisfaction  of  displaying  the  sleeve  adorned  with 
sergeant's  stripes.  He  was  not  a  common  cadet,  he  had 
his  stripes,  and  though  this  did  not  seem  much  to  one 
who  dreamed  of  being  a  general,  still  it  was  a  step  in 
the  right  direction.  No;  he  did  not  go  to  bull-fights. 
In  truth  he  was  an  habitue  but  he  had  sacrificed  him- 
self in  order  to  talk  for  a  whole  afternoon  with  his 
sweetheart  at  the  door  of  her  house  in  the  silence  of  the 
Claverias.  The  grandmother  had  gone  down  into  the 
garden,  and  "  Virgin's  Blue  "  would  not  be  long  in  going 
out  and  leaving  the  coast  clear,  as  if  the  matter  in  no 
way  concerned  him.  "  The  beautiful  evening,  friend 
Gabriel  ! "  He  had  far  more  serious  and  important 
affairs  than  the  new  comers  at  the  academy,  who  spent 
all  their  Sundays  at  the  cafes,  or  walking  up  and  down 
like  fools — ever}'one  at  the  academy,  even  the  pro- 
fessors, envied  him  his  sweetheart. 

"  And  when  is  the  wedding  to  be  ?  "  said  Gabriel 
gaily. 

Master  Stripes  looked  most  important  as  he  replied : 
"  There  were  many  things  to  be  done  before — first  of  all 
to  bring  his  uncle  to  consent,  which  might  not  be  easy, 
and  to  follow  the  guiding  of  his  good  star  to  attain  a 


254  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

certain  rank ;  but  he  was  intended  for  great  things,  so  it 
was  only  a  matter  of  a  few  years. 

"  I,  friend  Luna,  am  of  the  stuff  of  young  generals  ;  it 
is  the  good  luck  of  the  family.  My  uncle,  when  he  was 
only  an  acolyte,  was  certain  he  would  become  a  cardinal, 
and  he  succeeded.  I  shall  rise  much  faster.  Besides, 
you  know  that  to  be  an  archbishop  of  Toledo  is  not  a 
small  thing.  My  uncle  has  many  friends  in  the  palace, 
and  commands  in  the  ministry  of  war  just  as  though  he 
were  a  general.  In  point  of  fact  he  is  far  more  a  soldier 
than  a  cleric !  And  to  prove  it  to  you,  there  is  the 
only  thing  he  has  ever  written,  a  prayer  to  the  Virgin 
for  the  soldiers  to  recite  before  they  go  into  action." 

"  And  you,  Juanito,  do  you  really  feel  any  vocation 
for  a  military  life  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal — ever  since  I  knew  how  to  open  books 
and  read  them  I  have  wished  to  rival  those  great 
captains  that  I  saw  in  the  prints,  erect  on  their  horses, 
with  swords  in  their  hands,  proud  and  handsome.  Believe 
me,  no  one  enters  on  this  career  without  a  vocation ; 
many  are  entered  in  the  seminaries  against  their  will, 
but  no  one  can  make  a  soldier  by  force;  anyone  who 
comes  to  the  academy  has  the  longing  in  himself." 

**  And  are  all  of  them  as  sure  of  the  result  as  you 
are  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes;  all,"  said  the  cardinal's  nephew  smiling, 
"  except  that  the  immense  majority  have  not  such 
probabilities  of  making  a  name.  But,  such  as  we  are, 
there  is  not  one  amongst  us  who  dreams  of  the  possi- 
bility of  vegetating  as  a  captain  in  a  reserve  regiment, 
or  of  dying  of  old  age  as  a  commandant.  We  all  of  us 
see  first  of  all  youth  glorified  by  the  uniform,  full  of 
adventures  (for  you  know  all  the  women  fight  for  us),  by 
the  joy  of  life,  loved  and  respected  everywhere,  head 
and  shoulders   above  our  countrymen  ;  and  when  old 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  255 

age  approaches,  and  we  begin  to  get  fat  and  bald,  the 
gold  braid  of  a  general,  politics,  and,  who  knows, 
possibly  the  portfolio  of  war  '  This  is  in  ever3-one's 
thoughts.  No  one  believes  but  that  the  future  holds  a 
baton  for  him,  and  that  he  has  only  to  unhook  it  and 
fasten  it  to  his  belt.  I  know  for  certain  what  is  await- 
ing me,  the  rest  dream  and  hope  for  it,  and  so  we  go  on 
living." 

Gabriel  smiled  as  he  listened  to  the  cadet. 

"  You  are  all  deceiving  yourselves,  like  those  poor 
youths  who  enter  the  seminaries,  believing  that  a  mitre 
awaits  them  or  a  fat  benefice  on  the  other  side  of  the 
door.  It  is  the  influence  and  attraction  still  exercised 
by  the  great  things  that  have  been.  Let  us  see — apart 
from  the  material  result  of  the  profession — why  do  you 
become  soldiers  ? " 

"  For  the  sake  of  glory- !  "  said  the  cadet  pompously, 
remembering  the  harangues  of  the  colonel  director  of 
the  academy.  "  For  our  country,  whose  defence  is 
entrusted  to  us  !  and  for  the  honour  of  our  flag  !  " 

"  Glory  !  "  said  Gabriel,  ironically.  "  I  know  all  about 
that.  Very  often,  seeing  you  all  so  young  and  inex- 
perienced, so  full  of  vain  hopes,  I  have  reconstructed  in 
my  own  mind  what  might  be  called  the  psychology  of 
the  cadet.  I  can  guess  all  that  you  thought  before 
entering  the  academy,  and  I  foresee  the  bitter  and 
crushing  disillusion  that  awaits  you  on  leaving  it.  The 
history  of  wars  and  the  artistic  trappings  of  the  uniform 
have  seduced  your  youth.  Afterwards,  warlike  tales  of 
an  irresistible  fascination — Bonaparte  with  his  little 
band  crossing  the  bridge  at  Areola  amid  showers  of 
bullets.  And  then  our  own  generals,  not  to  go  further — 
Espartero  at  Luchana,  O'Donnel  in  Africa,  and,  above 
all,  Prim,  that  almost  legendary  leader,  directing 
the  battalion  at  Castillejos  with  his  sword.     '  I  wish  to 


256  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

be  the  same,'  say  these  youths  ;  '  where  one  man  has 
arrived  another  may  also  succeed ' ;  enthusiasm  is  taken 
for  predestination,  and  each  one  thinks  himself  created 
by  God  on  purpose  to  be  a  famous  leader.  In  the 
meanwhile  you  live  in  Toledo,  dreaming  of  glory,  of 
hairbreadth  enterprises,  of  gigantic  battles  and  noisy 
triumphs.  But  when,  with  the  two  stars  on  your  arm 
you  go  to  a  regiment,  the  first  thing  that  comes  to  meet 
you  at  the  barrack  gate,  even  before  you  receive  the 
salute  of  the  sentry,  is  the  ugly  and  disagreeable  reality. 
He  who  dreams  of  covering  himself  with  glory  and 
becoming  a  great  leader  before  he  is  thirty,  thinking  of 
nothing  but  strategic  combinations  and  original  fortifi- 
cations, must  occupy  himself  with  the  washing  and 
decency  of  a  lot  of  wild  lads,  who  come  in  from  the 
fields  reeking  with  excessive  health  ;  try  the  rations,  dis- 
cuss drawers  and  shirts,  calculate  the  lasting  of  ankle 
boots  and  hempen  shoes,  and  he  who  never  went  near 
the  kitchen  at  home,  was  most  carefully  looked  after  by 
his  mother,  and  thought  that  everything  was  women's 
work  except  giving  words  of  command  and  drawing 
soldiers  up  in  line,  now  finds  the  first  requirement  in  a 
regiment  is  to  be  cook,  tailor,  shoemaker,  etc.,  very 
often  receiving  reprimands  from  his  superiors  if  he 
prove  lazy  in  those  duties." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Juanito  laughing ;  "  but  without 
these  things  there  cannot  be  an  army,  and  an  army  is 
necessary." 

"  We  are  not  discussing  if  it  is  necessary  or  no.  I 
only  wish  to  point  out  that  you  (or  perhaps  not  you,  as 
you  enter  on  a  good  footing,  but  certainly  your  com- 
panions) are  self-deceivers,  and  are  preparing  without 
knowing  it  the  shipwreck  of  your  lives,  precisely  like 
those  other  youths  who,  poorer,  or  perhaps  less  energetic, 
crowd  to  enter  the  Church.     The  Church  has  come  to 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  257 

an  end  as  there  is  no  longer  faith ;  military  glory  has  ended 
in  Spain  as  there  are  no  longer  wars  of  conquest,  and  our 
character  as  strong  fighting  men  has  been  lost  for 
centuries.  If  we  have  a  war,  it  is  either  civil  or  colonial — 
wars  that  might  be  called  disasters — without  glory  and 
without  profit,  but  in  which  men  die  as  at  Thermopyle 
or  Austerlitz,  as  a  man  can  only  die  once ;  but  without 
the  consolation  of  fame,  or  of  public  applause,  without 
in  fact  that  aureole  that  you  call  glory.  You  have  all 
been  born  too  late ;  you  are  the  warriors  of  a  people  who 
must  perforce  live  in  peace;  just  as  those  seminarists 
will  be  the  future  priests  in  a  country  where  there  are 
no  longer  miracles  nor  faith,  only  routine  and  utter 
stagnation  of  thought." 

"  But  if  we  have  no  foreign  wars,  if  conquests  have 
come  to  an  end,  we  serve  at  least  to  defend  the  integrity 
of  Spanish  soil,  to  guard  our  own  homes.  Is  it  that 
you  think,"  said  the  cadet  nettled,  "  we  are  incapable 
of  dying  for  our  country  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  doubt  it ;  that  is  the  only  thing  Spaniards 
are  capable  of  doing,  to  die  most  heroically,  but  in  the 
end  to  die.  Our  history  for  the  last  two  centuries  has 
been  nothing  but  a  tale  of  heroic  deaths — *  Glorious 
defeat  in  such  a  place,'  *  Heroic  disaster  in  some  other.' 
By  sea  and  by  land  we  have  astonished  the  world,  throw- 
ing ourselves  blindly  into  danger,  showing  a  good  front, 
without  flinching,  with  the  stoicism  of  a  Chinaman.  But 
nations  do  not  grow  great  from  their  contempt  of  death, 
but  through  their  ability  to  preserve  life.  The  Poles 
were  the  terror  of  the  Turks,  and  some  of  the  best 
soldiers  in  Europe,  yet  Poland  has  ceased  to  exist.  If 
any  great  European  power  could  invade  us — you  will 
remark  I  say  could,  for  in  these  things  the  wish  is  not  the 
same  as  the  power,  I  know  exactly  what  would  happen; 
the  Spaniards  would  know  how  to  die,  but  you  may  be 

c.  s 


258  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

perfectly  certain  the  invaders  would  not  require  more 
than  two  battles  to  sweep  away  entirely  all  our  military 
preparations.  And  all  this,  which  could  be  scattered  in 
a  couple  of  days,  what  sacrifices  it  costs  the  country !  " 

"  Then,"  said  the  cadet  ironically,  "  I  presume  we 
must  suppress  the  army,  and  leave  the  nation 
undefended." 

"  As  things  are  to-day  there  is  no  hope  of  that  happen- 
ing. As  long  as  all  Europe  is  armed  and  the  smallest 
country  has  an  army,  Spain  will  have  one  also.  It  is 
not  for  her  to  set  an  example ;  and  besides,  the  example 
would  be  of  no  use,  it  is  as  though  one  having  a  few 
thousand  pesetas  should  endeavour  to  initiate  the 
remedy  to  social  injustice  by  sacrificing  himself  and 
giving  them  up." 

After  a  long  silence  Gabriel  spoke  again  very  quietly, 
noticing  the  ironical  and  even  aggressive  manner  of  the 
cadet. 

"No  doubt  you  are  pained  by  what  I  say ;  believe  me 
I  feel  it,  as  I  have  no  wish  to  wound  the  beliefs  of  any- 
one, least  of  all  of  those  who  have  formed  to  themselves 
an  ideal  of  life.  But  truth  is  truth.  The  social  question 
does  not  trouble  you.  Is  it  not  so  ?  You  know  nothing 
about  it,  you  have  never  thought  about  it  for  an  instant, 
and  it  is  the  same  with  all  your  companions,  but  never- 
theless, what  you  suffer  in  your  prestige,  in  your  love  of 
country  and  of  your  standard,  has  no  other  cause  but 
the  social  disorder  at  present  rampant  in  the  world. 
Wealth  is  everything,  capital  is  lord  of  the  world. 
Science  directs  humanity  as  the  successor  of  faith,  but 
the  rich  have  possessed  themselves  of  its  discoveries, 
and  have  monopolised  them  to  continue  their  tyranny. 
In  the  economic  world  they  have  made  themselves 
masters  of  machinery  and  of  all  progress,  using  them  as 
chains   to  enslave  the  workman,  forcing  an  excess  of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  259 

production,  but  limiting  his  daily  wage  to  what  is 
strictly  necessary.  In  the  life  of  nations  the  same 
thing  repeats  itself — war  to-day  is  nothing  but  an 
appliance  of  science,  and  the  richest  countries  have 
acquired  the  greatest  improvements  in  the  art  of 
extermination.  They  have  crowds  of  recruits,  thousands 
of  enormous  cannon,  they  can  keep  millions  of  men 
under  arms,  with  every  sort  of  modern  improvement, 
without  becoming  bankrupt.  But  to  poor  countries, 
their  only  remaining  course  is  to  hold  their  tongues,  or 
to  rage  uselessly,  as  the  disinherited  do  against  those  in 
possession  of  their  property.  The  most  cowardly  and 
sedentary  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe  may  become 
invincible  warriors  if  they  have  the  money.  The 
bravery  of  chivalry  came  to  an  end  with  the  invention 
of  powder,  and  the  pride  of  race  has  faded  for  ever 
before  the  advent  of  trade.  If  the  Cid  came  to  life 
again  he  would  be  in  jail,  he  would  have  become  a 
highwayman,  unable  to  adjust  himself  to  the  inequalities 
and  injustice  of  modern  life.  If  the  Gran  Capitan  were 
now  minister  of  war,  he  would  probably  be  unable  even 
with  this  military  tax  which  oppresses  the  country  to 
put  his  regiments  in  condition  to  undertake  a  fresh  war 
in  Italy.  It  is  money,  that  cursed  money  !  which  has 
killed  the  finest  part  of  soldiering — personal  bravery, 
initiative,  originality — ^just  as  it  has  crushed  the 
workman,  making  his  life  a  hell." 

The  cadet  listened  attentively  to  Gabriel,  under- 
standing for  the  first  time  that  in  great  nations  there  is 
something  more  than  the  warlike  sympathies  of  the 
the  monarch  and  the  bravery  of  the  army.  He  saw 
suddenly  that  wealth  was  the  basis  and  mainspring  of 
all  military  enterprise. 

"  Then,"  he  said  thoughtfully,  "  if  foreign  nations  do 
not  attack  us  it  is  not  because  they  fear  us." 

s  2 


26oTHE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

"  No ;  that  we  arc  permitted  to  live  in  peace  is 
because  these  omnipotent  powers  with  all  their  ambitions 
and  jealousies  preserve  a  certain  equilibrium.  They 
are  like  the  great  capitalists  who,  occupied  with  vast 
projects  of  speculation,  neglect  either  from  carelessness 
or  contempt  the  small  undertakings  that  lie  at  their 
door.  Do  you  believe  that  Switzerland  or  Belgium  or 
other  small  countries  live  in  peace  surrounded  by  great 
powers  because  they  have  an  army  ?  They  would 
exist  just  the  same  if  they  had  not  a  single  soldier,  and 
the  military  powder  of  Spain  is  not  greater  than  that  of 
one  of  these  small  countries ;  the  poverty  of  the  country 
and  the  scanty  population  oblige  us  to  be  humble.  In 
these  days  there  are  two  kinds  of  armies,  those  organised 
for  conquest  and  those  whose  only  use  is  to  keep  order 
at  home,  that  are  no  more  than  police  on  a  large  scale, 
with  guns  and  generals.  That  of  Spain,  however  much 
it  costs,  and  however  much  they  increase  it,  comes 
under  the  latter  classification." 

"  And  if  it  is  only  this,"  said  the  cadet,  "  is  it  not 
something  ?  We  keep  peace  at  home,  and  we  watch 
over  the  tranquillity  of  our  country." 

"  Yes,  but  that  could  be  done  by  fewer  people  and  for 
less  money.  Besides,  how  about  glory  ?  Will  you 
youths,  full  of  illusions,  overflowing  with  aggressiveness 
and  energy  for  new  undertakings,  resign  yourselves  to 
this  profession  of  watchmen  and  caretakers  to  a  country? 
Your  future  will  be  as  monotonous  as  that  of  a  priest  in 
his  cathedral.  Every  day  the  same — to  drill  men  to 
move  this  or  that  way,  to  play  at  dominoes  or  billiards 
in  a  cafe,  to  walk  about  in  uniform  or  take  a  nap  in  the 
guard-room.  There  can  be  nothing  for  you  beyond  a 
small  disturbance  at  the  tax  on  provisions,  a  strike,  a 
closing  of  shops  to  protest  against  the  taxes,  and  then 
to  fire  on  a  mob  armed  with  sticks  and  stones.     If  at 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  261 

any  time  in  your  life  you  are  ordered  to  fire,  you  may  be 
sure  it  will  be  on  Spaniards.  The  Government  do  not 
wish  for  an  army  as  they  know  it  is  useless  for  the 
exterior  defence  of  the  nation  ;  besides,  the  national 
finances  do  not  admit  of  its  maintenance,  and  they  are 
consequently  satisfied  with  an  embryonic  organisation 
which  is  always  insubordinate,  distracted  by  incessant 
and  contradictory  reforms,  copying  foreign  improve- 
ments as  a  poor  girl  copies  the  robes  of  a  great  lady. 
Believe  me,  there  is  nothing  pleasant  in  living  such  a 
narrowed  and  monotonous  life,  with  no  other  chance  of 
glory  but  that  of  shooting  a  workman  who  protests  or 
a  people  who  complain." 

'*  But,  how  about  liberty  ?  How  about  political  pro- 
gress ?"  inquired  the  cadet.  "  I  have  heard  it  said  by  a 
captain  at  the  academy  that  if  the  Liberal  party  exists  in 
Spain  it  is  through  the  army." 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  in  that,"  said  Gabriel.  "  It  is 
indubitably  the  most  important  service  the  army  has 
rendered  to  the  State ;  without  it,  who  knows  where  the 
civil  wars  would  have  ended  in  this  country,  so  stationary 
and  so  timid  about  all  reforms !  I  repeat  it,  I  do  not 
ignore  this  service,  but,  believe  me,  that  civil  wars 
between  liberty  and  political  absolutism  will  never  be 
repeated,  neither  could  the  guerilla  warfare  of  the 
Independence  with  any  definite  issue.  The  means  of 
communication  and  military  progress  have  put  an  end 
to  mountain  warfare.  The  Mauser,  which  is  the  arm  of 
the  day,  requires  well-provided  parks  of  ammunition  to 
follow  it,  cartridge  magazines  at  its  back,  and  all  this  is 
incompatible  with  party  fighting." 

"  But  you  will  admit  that  we  are  of  some  use,  and 
that  we  render  the  nation  good  service." 

"  I  admit  it  in  the  actual  state  of  things,  but  I  should 
admit  it    more  fully   if  you   were  fewer.     The   greater 


262  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

part  of  the  grant  is  spent,  but  all  the  same  you  live  in 
poverty,  decent  and  hidden,  but  poverty  all  the  same. 
A  lieutenant  earns  less  than  many  operatives,  but  he 
must  buy  himself  showy  uniforms,  be  smart,  and  fre- 
quent when  he  wants  amusement  the  same  places  as 
the  rich.  He  can  only  see  before  him  long  years  of 
waiting  and  of  hidden  poverty,  borne  with  dignity, 
until  some  promotion  provides  him  with  a  few  duros 
more  monthly.  You  all  suffer  dragging  on  this  existence 
of  slaves  to  the  sword,  the  nation  who  pays  grumbles  at 
seeing  you  inactive,  and  forgets  other  superfluous 
expenses  to  fix  its  complaints  solely  on  the  military. 
Believe  me,  for  a  modern  army,  you  are  too  few  and 
badly  organised  ;  to  keep  the  peace  at  home  you  are 
too  many  and  too  dear.  The  fault  is  not  yours,  your 
vocation  has  come  too  late,  when  fate  has  rendered 
Spain  powerless  for  adventurous  undertakings.  If  she 
revives  she  will  have  to  follow  a  direction  which  will 
certainly  not  be  that  of  the  sword.  For  this  reason  I 
say  that  these  youths  stray  from  the  right  path  when 
they  seek  for  glory  where  their  ancestors  thought  to 
find  it." 

The  appearance  of  Silver  Stick  cut  short  the  dialogue. 
He  ran  in,  pale  with  excitement,  gasping,  rattling  his 
bunch  of  keys. 

"  His  Eminence  is  coming,"  he  said,  hurriedly.  "  He 
is  already  under  the  arch ;  he  wishes  to  spend  the 
evening  in  the  garden  ;  it  is  a  whim  !  They  say  he  is 
quite  unmanageable  to-day." 

And  he  ran  on  to  open  the  staircase  del  Tenorio, 
which  put  the  Claverias  in  communication  with  the 
lower  cloister. 

The  cadet  was  alarmed  at  the  unexpected  proximity 
of  his  uncle.  He  did  not  wish  to  meet  him  there,  he 
feared   the    cardinal's   temper,    and   fled   towards   the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  263 

tower  staircase  on  his  way  to  the  bull-fight,  sacrificing 
his  sweetheart  sooner  than  meet  with  Don  Sebastian. 

Gabriel,  who  now  found  himself  alone  in  the  cloister, 
leant  against  a  column  and  watched  the  progress  of 
this  terrible  prince  of  the  Church.  He  saw  him  come 
out  of  the  doorway  leading  to  the  abode  of  the  giants, 
followed  by  two  servants.  Luna  was  able  to  examine 
him  well  for  the  first  time.  He  was  enormous  ;  but  in 
spite  of  his  age  carried  himself  erectly  ;  over  his  black 
cassock  with  the  red  borders  hung  his  gold  cross. 
He  was  leaning  with  a  martial  air  on  a  staff  of  command, 
and  the  gold  tassels  of  his  hat  fell  on  the  pink  skin  of 
his  fat  neck,  which  was  fringed  with  white  hair.  His 
small  and  penetrating  eyes  looked  on  all  sides  in 
the  hopes  of  discovering  some  delinquency,  something 
contravening  the  established  rules,  which  would  enable 
him  to  break  out  into  shouts  and  menaces  and  so  give 
vent  to  his  ill  humour  and  to  the  anger  which  furrowed 
his  brows. 

He  disappeared  by  the  staircase  del  Tenorio,  preceded 
by  Don  Antolin,  who,  after  opening  the  iron  gates,  had 
placed  himself  at  his  orders,  shaking  with  fear.  The 
silence  and  solitude  of  the  Claverias  were  undisturbed,  it 
seemed  as  though  the  people  hidden  in  their  houses 
remained  absolutely  still,  guessing  the  danger  that  was 
passing. 

Gabriel,  leaning  on  the  balustrade,  watched  the 
cardinal  enter  the  lower  cloister,  walking  round  two 
sides  till  he  came  to  the  garden  gate.  A  slight  gesture 
from  the  prelate  was  sufficient  to  stop  the  two  servants, 
and  he  walked  on  alone  through  the  central  avenue 
towards  the  summer-house  where  Tomasa  was  fast 
asleep  between  its  leafy  walls,  her  knitting  in  her  hands. 

The  old  woman  awoke  at  the  sound  of  footsteps,  and 
seeing  the  prelate,  gave  a  cry  of  surprise. 


264  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  Don  Sebastian  !     You  here  !  " 

"  I  wished  to  visit  you,"  said  the  cardinal  with  a 
benevolent  smile,  seating  himself  on  a  bench.  "  It 
must  not  be  always  3'ou  who  come  to  seek  me.  I  owe 
you  many  visits,  and  here  I  am." 

Plunging  one  hand  into  the  depths  of  his  cassock, 
he  drew  forth  a  small  gold  case  and  lighted  a  cigarette. 
He  stretched  out  his  legs  with  the  complacency  of  one 
who  being  always  accustomed  to  wear  the  frowning 
brow  of  authority,  finds  himself  for  a  few  moments  at 
liberty. 

"  But  have  you  not  been  ill  ?  "  inquired  the  gardener's 
widow.  "  I  had  thought  of  coming  round  to  the  palace 
this  afternoon  to  inquire  after  your  health  from  Dona 
Visita." 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  you  fool;  I  have  never  felt 
better,  especially  since  this  morning.  The  slap  I  have 
given  to  those  by  not  going  into  the  choir  to  pray  with 
them  has  put  me  in  a  splendid  humour,  and  in  order 
that  they  may  thoroughly  understand  my  meaning  I 
have  come  to  see  you.  I  wish  them  all  to  know  that  I 
am  quite  well,  and  that  what  is  said  about  my  illness  is 
untrue.  I  wish  all  in  Toledo  to  understand  that  the 
archbishop  will  not  see  his  canons,  and  that  he  does  so 
from  a  sense  of  dignity,  not  from  pride,  as  at  the  same 
time  he  can  come  down  to  see  his  old  friend  the 
gardener's  widow." 

And  the  terrible  old  man  laughed  lik^  a  child  to 
think  of  the  annoyance  this  visit  would  cause  his 
Chapter. 

"  Do  not  believe,  however,  Tomasa,"  he  continued, 
"  that  I  have  come  to  see  you  solely  for  this  reason.  I 
felt  sad  and  worried  in  the  palace  this  afternoon. 
Visitacion  was  busy  with  some  friends  from  Madrid, 
and    I    had    that   heartache   I   sometimes   feel   when   I 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  265 

think  of  the  past.  I  felt  that  I  must  come  and  see  you, 
more  especially  as  it  is  always  cool  in  the  Cathedral 
garden,  whereas  outside  it  is  as  hot  as  an  oven.  Ah  ! 
Tomasa !  how  strong  I  see  you !  So  slim  and  so 
active.  You  wear  better  than  I  do  ;  you  are  not  wrapped 
in  fat  like  this  sinner,  and  you  have  not  the  pains  that 
disturb  my  nights.  Your  hair  is  still  dark,  your  teeth 
are  well  preserved,  and  you  do  not  need  like  this  old 
cardinal  to  have  a  mechanism  inside  your  mouth  ;  but 
all  the  same,  Tomasa,  you  are  just  as  old  as  I  am.  We 
have  ver}'  few  years  of  life  left  to  us,  however  much  the 
Lord  may  wish  to  preserve  us.  What  would  I  not  give 
to  return  to  those  days  when  I  ran  up  to  your  house  in 
my  red  gown  in  search  of  your  father,  the  sacristan, 
and  stole  your  breakfast.     Eh,  Tomasa  ?  " 

The  two  old  people,  forgetting  social  differences, 
recalled  the  past  with  the  friendly  resignation  of  those 
advancing  towards  death.  Everything  was  the  same 
as  in  their  childhood — the  garden,  the  cloister;  nothing 
about  the  Cathedral  had  changed. 

His  Eminence,  closing  his  eyes,  fancied  himself  once 
more  the  restless  acolyte  of  fifty  years  before ;  the  blue 
spirals  from  his  cigarette  seemed  to  carry  his  thoughts 
back  through  the  interminable  labyrinths  of  the 
past. 

"  Do  you  remember  how  your  poor  father  used  to 
laugh  at  me  ?  *  This  boy,'  he  would  say  in  the  sacristy, 
'  is  a  Sixtus  V.  What  do  you  wish  to  be  ? '  he 
would  ask  me,  and  I  always  gave  the  same  answer, 
*  Archbishop  of  Toledo.'  And  the  good  sacristan  would 
laugh  again  at  the  certainty  with  which  I  spoke  of  my 
hopes.  Believe  me,  Tomasa,  I  thought  much  of  him 
when  I  was  consecrated  bishop,  regretting  his  death. 
I  should  have  been  delighted  with  his  tears  of  joy 
seeing  me  with  the  mitre  on  my  head.     I  have  always 


266  THE   SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

loved  you,  you  are  an  excellent  family,  and  have  often 
satisfied  my  hunger." 

"  Silence,  seiior,  silence,  and  do  not  recall  those  things. 
I  am  the  one  who  ought  to  be  grateful  for  your  kindness, 
so  simple  and  genuine  in  spite  of  your  rank,  which 
comes  next  after  the  Pope.  And  the  truth  is,"  added 
the  old  woman  with  the  pride  of  her  frankness,  "  that 
no  one  is  the  loser.  Friends  like  I  am  you  can 
never  have ;  like  all  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  you  are 
surrounded  by  flatterers  and  rascals.  If  you  had 
remained  a  simple  mass  priest  no  one  would  have 
sought  you  out,  but  Tomasa  would  have  always  been 
your  friend,  always  ready  to  do  you  a  service.  If  I 
love  you  so  much  it  is  because  you  are  kind  and  affable, 
but  if  you  had  put  on  pride  like  other  archbishops,  I 
should  have  kissed  your  ring  and — '  Good-bye.'  The 
cardinal  to  his  palace,  the  gardener's  widow  to  her 
garden." 

The  prelate  received  the  old  woman's  frankness 
smilingly. 

"  You  will  always  be  Don  Sebastian  to  me,"  she  con- 
tinued. "  When  you  told  me  not  to  call  you  Eminence 
or  to  use  the  same  ceremonies  as  other  people,  I  was  as 
pleased  as  if  I  had  been  given  the  mantle  of  the  Virgin 
del  Sagrario.  Such  ceremonies  would  have  stuck  in  my 
throat  and  made  me  ready  to  cry  out,  '  Let  him  have 
his  fill  of  Eminence  and  Illustrious,  but  we  have 
scratched  each  other  thousands  of  times  when  we  were 
little,  and  this  big  thief  could  never  see  a  scrap  of  bread 
or  an  apricot  in  my  hand  without  trying  to  snatch  and 
devour  it  ! '  You  may  be  thankful  I  spoke  of  you  as 
*  usted '  ^  when  you  became  a  beneficiary  of  the  Cathedral, 
for,  after  all,  it  would  not  do  to  '  thou  '  a  priest  as  if  he 
were  an  acolyte." 

*  Contraction  of  vuestra  merced — your  worship. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  267 

Silence  fell  on  the  two  old  people,  their  eyes  wandered 
tenderly  over  the  garden,  as  if  each  tree  or  arcade 
covered  with  foliage  contained  some  memory. 

"  Do  you  know  what  I  have  just  remembered,"  said 
Tomasa.  "  I  remember  that  we  saw  each  other  just 
here  many  many  years  ago,  at  least  forty-eight  or  fifty. 
I  was  with  my  poor  elder  sister  who  had  just  married 
Luna  the  gardener,  and  in  the  cloister  wandering  round 
me  was  he  who  afterwards  became  my  husband.  We 
saw  a  handsome  sergeant  come  into  the  summer-house 
with  a  great  jingle  of  spurs,  a  sword  on  his  arm,  and  a 
helmet  with  a  tail  just  like  the  Jews  on  the  Monument. 
It  was  you,  Don  Sebastian,  who  had  come  to  Toledo  to 
visit  your  uncle  the  beneficiary,  and  who  would  not 
leave  without  visiting  your  friend  Tomasita.  How  hand- 
some and  smart  you  were.  I  do  not  say  it  to  flatter  you, 
it  is  truth.  You  looked  like  being  a  rogue  with  the 
girls  !  And  I  still  remember  you  said  something  to  me 
about  how  pretty  and  fresh  you  thought  me  after  so 
many  years  absence.  You  don't  mind  my  reminding 
you  of  this  ?  Really?  It  was  only  a  soldier's  gallant  jests. 
How  many  would  say  that  now  ?  When  you  left,  I 
said  to  my  brother-in-law,  '  He  has  put  on  the  uniform 
for  good  and  all ;  it  is  useless  his  uncle,  the  beneficiary, 
thinking  of  making  a  priest  of  him.'  " 

"  It  was  a  youthful  sally,"  said  the  cardinal  smiling, 
remembering  with  pride  the  dashing  sergeant  of  dragoons. 
"In  Spain,  there  are  only  three  professions  worthy  of  a 
man — the  sword,  the  Church  and  the  toga.  My  blood  was 
hot  and  I  wanted  to  be  a  soldier,  but  unluckily  I  fell 
on  times  of  peace,  my  promotion  would  have  been  very 
slow,  and  in  order  not  to  embitter  my  uncle's  last  years, 
I  renewed  my  studies  and  turned  to  the  Church.  One 
can  serve  God  or  one's  country  as  well  in  one  place  as 
another,  but,  believe  me,  very  often  in  spite  of  the  pomp 


268  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

of  my  cardinalate  I  think  with  envy  of  that  soldier  you 
saw.  What  happy  times  they  were  !  Even  now  the 
sword  draws  me.  When  I  see  the  cadets  I  would 
gladly  exchange  with  some  of  them,  giving  them  my 
crozier  and  cross.  And  possibly  I  might  have  done 
better  than  any  of  them !  Ah  !  if  only  the  great  times 
of  the  reconquest  could  return  when  the  prelates  went 
out  to  fight  the  Moors  !  What  a  great  Archbishop  of 
Toledo  I  should  have  been  !  " 

And  Don  Sebastian  drew  up  his  fat  old  body,  and 
proudly  stretched  out  his  arms  with  all  the  remains  of 
his  former  strength. 

"  You  have  always  been  a  strong  man,"  said  the 
gardener's  widow.  "  I  sg,y  very  often  to  some  of  the 
priests  who  speak  of  you  and  criticise  you  :  '  You  must 
not  trifle  with  His  Eminence,  he  is  quite  capable  of 
going  one  day  into  the  choir — some  he  likes  and 
some  he  does  not — and  driving  you  all  out  at  one  fell 
swoop.'  " 

"  I  have  more  than  once  been  tempted  to  do  so," 
said  the  prelate  firmly,  his  eyes  flashing  with  energy, 
"  but  I  have  been  prevented  by  the  thought  of  my 
charge  and  my  character  as  a  peaceful  priest.  I  am  the 
shepherd  of  a  Catholic  flock,  not  a  wolf  who  tears  the 
sheep  in  his  fierceness.  But  sometimes  I  can  bear  no 
more,  and  God  forgive  me  !  I  have  often  been  tempted 
to  raise  the  shepherd's  crook  and  chastise  with  blows 
that  rebel  flock  who  harbour  in  the  Cathedral." 

The  prelate  became  excited,  speaking  of  his  quarrels 
with  the  Chapter  ;  the  placidity  of  mind  produced  by  the 
quiet  of  the  garden  disappeared  as  he  thought  of  his 
hostile  subordinates.  He  felt  obliged  as  at  other  times 
to  confide  his  troubles  to  the  gardener's  widow  with 
that  instinctive  kindly  feeling  which  often  causes  highly- 
placed  people  to  confide  in  humble  friends. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  269 

"  You  cannot  imagine,  Tomasa,  what  those  men  make 
me  suffer.  I  will  subdue  them  because  I  am  the  master, 
because  they  owe  me  obedience  by  the  rule  of  discipline 
without  which  there  can  be  neither  Church  nor  religion  ; 
but  they  oppose  and  disobey  me.  My  orders  are  carried 
out  with  grumbling,  and  when  I  assert  myself  even  the 
last  ordained  priest  stands  on  what  he  calls  his  rights, 
lays  complaints  against  me  and  appeals  either  to  the 
Rota  ^  or  to  Rome.  Let  us  see,  am  I  the  master  or  am 
I  not  ?  Ought  the  shepherd  to  argue  with  his  sheep 
and  consult  how  to  guide  them  in  the  right  way  ?  They 
sicken  and  weary  me  with  their  complaints  and  ques- 
tions. There  is  not  half  a  man  amongst  them,  they  are 
all  cowardly  tale-bearers.  In  my  presence  they  lower 
their  eyes,  smile  and  praise  His  Eminence,  and  as  soon 
as  I  turn  my  back  they  are  vipers  trying  to  bite  me, 
scorpion  tongues  which  respect  nothing.  Ay,  Tomasa, 
my  daughter  !  pity  me  !  when  I  think  of  all  this  it  makes 
me  quite  ill." 

The  prelate  turned  pale,  rising  from  his  seat  as 
though  he  felt  a  sudden  spasm  of  pain. 

"  Do  not  worry  yourself  so  much,"  said  the  old 
woman,  **  you  are  above  them  all,  and  you  will  over- 
come them." 

"  Clearly,  I  shall  defeat  them  ;  if  not,  it  would  fill  my 
cup,  for  it  would  be  the  first  time  I  had  been  vanquished. 
These  squabbles  among  comrades  do  not  trouble  me 
much  after  all,  for  I  know  in  the  end  I  shall  see  my 
detested  enemies  at  my  feet.  But  it  is  their  tongues, 
Tomasa  !  — what  they  say  about  the  beings  I  love  most 
in  the  world,  that  is  what  wounds  me,  and  is  killing 
me. 

He  sat  down  again,  coming  quite  close  to  the 
gardener's  widow,  so  as  to  speak  in  a  very  low  voice. 

*  Ecclesiastical  court. 


270  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

**  You  know  my  past  better  than  anyone  ;  I  have  such 
great  confidence  in  you  that  I  have  told  you  everything. 
Besides,  you  are  very  quick,  and  if  I  had  not  told  you, 
you  would  have  guessed.  You  know  what  Visitacion  is 
to  me,  and  most  certainly  you  are  aware  of  what  those 
wretches  say  about  her.  Do  not  play  the  fool ;  everyone 
inside  and  outside  the  Cathedral  listens  to  these 
calumnies  and  believes  them.  You  are  the  only  one 
who  does  not  credit  them  because  you  know  the  truth. 
But  ay !  the  truth  cannot  be  told,  I  cannot  proclaim  it, 
these  robes  forbid  me." 

And  he  seized  a  handful  of  his  cassock  with  his 
clenched  fingers  as  if  he  would  rend  it. 

A  long  silence  followed.  Don  Sebastian  looked  fixedly 
at  the  ground,  clutching  with  his  hands  as  though  he  were 
trying  to  grasp  invisible  enemies ;  every  now  and  then 
he  felt  a  stab  of  pain  and  sighed  uneasily, 

"Why  do  you  think  about  these  things?"  said  the 
gardener's  widow;  "they  only  make  you  ill,  and  you 
ought  not  to  have  disturbed  yourself  to  come  and  see 
me,  you  would  have  done  better  to  remain  in  the  palace." 

"  No,  you  distract  my  mind  from  them,  it  is  a  great 
comfort  to  tell  you  of  my  troubles.  Up  there  I  feel  in 
despair,  and  have  to  exert  all  my  self-command  to 
suppress  my  anger.  I  do  not  wish  my  servants  to 
understand,  for  they  are  quite  capable  of  laughing  at 
me,  neither  do  I  wish  poor  Visitacion  to  know  any- 
thing. I  cannot  dissimulate.  I  cannot  feign  happi- 
ness when  I  am  so  irritated  !  What  a  hell  I  suffer  ! 
I  cannot  say  that  I  have  been  a  man,  and  that  I 
have  been  weak  as  the  flesh  of  which  I  am  made, 
that  I  have  with  me  the  fruit  of  my  faults,  and  that 
I  will  not  separate  myself  from  them,  though  perse- 
cuted by  calumny.  Every  man  acts  as  he  is  able, 
and  I  wish  to  be  good  in  spite  of  my  faults.     I  might 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  271 

have  separated  from  my  children,  I  might  have  deserted 
them,  as  others  have  done  to  preserve  their  reputation 
as  saints,  but  I  am  a  man,  and  I  am  proud  of  them ;  I 
am  a  man  with  all  his  defects  and  all  his  virtues, 
neither  greater  nor  less  than  the  general  run  of 
humanity.  The  feeling  of  paternity  is  so  deeply  rooted 
in  me  that  I  would  sooner  lose  my  mitre  than  abandon 
my  children.  You  remember  when  Juanito's  father, 
who  passed  as  my  nephew,  died,  how  deeply  I  felt  it,  I 
thought  I  should  have  died  also.  Such  a  fine,  hand- 
some man,  and  with  such  a  brilliant  future  before  him  ! 
I  would  have  made  him  a  magistrate,  president  of  the 
supreme  court,  minister,  anything  I  wished !  And  in 
twenty-four  hours  he  was  dead  as  though  Heaven  wished 
to  punish  me.  It  is  true  I  have  my  grandson  remain- 
ing, but  this  Juanito  in  no  way  resembles  his  father, 
and  I  confess  it  to  you,  I  do  not  care  much  for  him. 
I  can  only  see  in  him  the  most  distant  reflection  of  my 
poor  son.  Of  my  past,  of  that  time  which  was  the 
happiest  of  my  life,  all  I  have  left  me  is  Visitacion. 
She  is  the  living  image  of  the  poor  dead  one.  I  worship 
her !  and  this  feeble  ray  of  happiness  these  wretched 
people  disturb  with  their  calumnies.  It  is  enough  to 
make  one  kill  them  !  " 

Overcome  by  the  happy  recollection  of  the  spring- 
time which  had  flowered  during  the  first  years  of  his 
episcopate,  far  away  in  an  Andalusian  diocese,  he 
repeated  once  again  to  Tomasa  the  tale  of  his  relations 
with  a  certain  devout  lady,  who  from  her  childhood  had 
felt  a  horror  of  the  world.  Devotion  had  drawn  them 
together,  but  life  was  not  long  in  asserting  her  rights, 
opening  herself  a  way  by  their  almost  mystical  relations, 
and  finally  uniting  them  in  a  carnal  embrace.  They 
had  lived  faithful  to  each  other  in  the  secrecy  of  eccle- 
siastical life,  loving  each  other  with  scrupulous  prudence. 


272  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

so  that  no  rumour  of  their  relations  had  ever  publicly 
transpired,  until  she  died,  leaving  two  children.  Don 
Sebastian,  a  man  of  strong  passions,  was  almost 
vehement  in  his  paternal  feelings — those  two  beings 
were  the  image  of  the  poor  dead  woman,  the  remem- 
brance of  the  only  idyll  which  had  softened  a  life 
wholly  given  over  to  ambition,  and  the  calumnies 
circulated  by  his  enemies,  founded  on  the  presence  of 
his  daughter  in  the  archiepiscopal  palace  nearly  drove 
him  mad. 

"  They  believe  her  to  be  my  mistress !  "  he  said 
angrily.  "  My  poor  Visitacion,  so  good,  so  affectionate, 
so  gentle  to  all,  changed  to  a  courtesan  by  these 
wretches !  A  sweetheart  that  I  have  taken  for  my 
amusement  from  the  college  of  Noble  Ladies  !  As  if  I, 
old  and  infirm,  were  able  to  think  of  such  things ! 
Brutes !  wretches  !  Crimes  have  been  committed 
for  less  !  " 

"  Let  them  say  on.  God  is  in  heaven  and  sees  us  all." 
"  I  know  it,  but  this  is  not  enough  to  quiet  me.  You 
have  children,  Tomasa,  and  you  know  what  it  is  to  love 
them.  It  is  not  only  what  is  done  against  them  that 
wounds  us,  but  what  is  said.  What  days  of  suffering  I 
endure  !  You  know  since  my  boyhood  all  my  dreams 
have  been  to  rise  to  where  I  am.  I  used  to  look  at  the 
throne  in  the  choir  and  think  how  comfortable  I  should 
be  in  it — of  the  immense  happiness  of  being  a  prince  of 
the  Church.  Well,  now  I  am  on  the  throne.  I  have 
spent  half  a  century  removing  the  stones  from  my  path, 
leaving  my  skin  and  even  my  flesh  on  the  brambles  of 
the  hillside.  I  only  know  how  I  was  able  to  rise  from 
the  black  mass  and  obtain  a  bishopric  !  Afterwards — 
now  1  am  an  archbishop  !  now  I  am  a  cardinal !  At 
last  I  can  rise  no  higher  !  And  what  is  it  all  ?  Happi- 
ness always  floats  before  us  like  the  cloud  of  light  which 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  273 

guided  the  Israelites.  We  see  it,  we  almost  touch  it, 
but  it  never  lets  itself  be  caught.  I  am  more  unhappy 
now  than  in  the  days  when  I  struggled  to  rise,  and 
thought  myself  the  most  unfortunate  of  men.  I  am  no 
longer  young ;  the  height  on  which  I  stand  draws  all 
eyes  to  me  and  prevents  me  defending  myself.  Ay, 
Tomasa  !  pity  me,  for  I  am  worthy  of  compassion  ! 
To  be  a  father  and  to  be  obliged  to  hide  it  as  a  crime ! 
To  love  my  daughter  with  an  affection  which  increases 
more  and  more  as  I  draw  nearer  to  death,  and  have  to 
endure  that  people  should  imagine  this  pure  affection 
to  be  something  so  repugnant  !  " 

And   the  terrible  glance  of   Don    Sebastian,    which 
terrified  all  the  diocese,  was  clouded  with  tears. 

*'  Moreover,  I  have  other  troubles,"  he  went  on, 
"  but  they  are  those  of  a  far-seeing  man  who  fears 
the  future.  When  I  die,  all  that  I  have  will  be  my 
daughter's.  Juanito  inherits  what  belonged  to  his 
mother,  who  was  rich  ;  besides,  he  has  his  profession  and 
the  support  of  my  friends.  Visitacion  will  be  very  rich. 
You  know  my  adversaries  throw  in  my  face  what  they 
call  my  avarice.  Avaricious  I  am  not,  but  foreseeing, 
and  anxious  for  the  well-being  of  those  belonging  to 
me.  I  have  saved  a  great  deal.  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  distribute  bread  at  the  gate  of  his  palace,  nor  who 
seek  popularity  through  almsgiving.  I  have  pasture 
lands  in  Estremadura,  many  vineyards  in  La  Mancha, 
houses,  and  above  all  State  stock — much  stock.  As  a 
good  Spaniard  I  have  wished  to  help  the  Government 
with  my  money,  more  especially  as  it  bears  interest. 
I  do  not  quite  know  how  much  I  possess,  but  certainly 
twenty  millions  of  reals,  and  probably  more,  all  saved 
by  myself  and  increased  by  fortunate  speculations.  I 
cannot  complain  of  fate,  and  the  Lord  has  helped  me. 
Everything  is  for  my  poor  Visitacion.     I  should  delight 

C.  T 


274  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

in  seeing  her  married  to  a  good  man  ;  but  she  will  not 
leave  me.  She  is  drawn  to  the  Church,  and  that  is  my 
fear.  Do  not  be  surprised,  Tomasa  ;  I,  a  prince  of  the 
Church,  fear  to  see  how  she  is  attracted  by  devotion, 
and  I  do  all  I  can  to  turn  her  from  it.  I  respect  a 
religious  woman,  but  not  one  who  is  only  happy  in  the 
Church.  A  woman  ought  to  live  ;  she  ought  to  be 
happy  as  a  mother.  I  have  always  looked  badly  on 
nuns." 

"  Let  her  be,  senor,"  said  the  gardener's  widow  ; 
"  there  is  nothing  strange  in  her  love  for  the  Church. 
Living  as  she  does  she  could  scarcely  do  otherwise." 

"  For  the  present  time,  I  have  no  fear.  I  am  by  her 
side,  and  her  being  fond  of  the  society  of  the  nuns 
signifies  very  little  to  me.  But  I  may  die  to-morrow, 
and  just  imagine  what  a  splendid  mouthful  poor 
Visitacion  and  her  millions  would  be,  left  alone,  with 
this  predilection  to  religious  life,  of  which  those  cunning 
people  would  be  sure  to  take  advantage !  I  have  seen  a 
great  deal.  I  belong  to  the  class,  and  I  am  in  the 
secret.  There  is  no  lack  of  religious  orders  who  devote 
themselves  to  hunting  heiresses  for  the  greater  glory  of 
God,  as  they  say.  Besides,  there  are  many  foreign  nuns 
with  great  flapping  caps  travelling  about  here,  who  are 
lynxes  for  that  sort  of  work,  and  I  am  terrified  lest  they 
should  pounce  on  my  daughter.  I  belong  to  the 
ancient  Catholicism,  to  that  pure  Spanish  religion,  free 
from  all  modern  extravagances.  It  would  be  sad  to 
have  spent  my  life  in  saving,  only  to  fatten  the  Jesuits 
or  those  sisters  who  cannot  speak  Castilian.  I  do  not 
wish  my  money  to  share  the  fate  of  that  of  the  sacris- 
tans in  the  proverb.  For  this  reason,  to  the  annoyance 
I  feel  at  my  struggles  with  this  inimical  Chapter, 
I  must  add  the  distress  I  feel  at  my  daughter's 
feeble  character.     Probably  she  will  be  hunted ;  some 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  275 

rake  will  laugh  at  me  and  possess  himself  of  my 
money." 

Excited  by  his  gloomy  thoughts,  he  gave  vent  to  an 
interjection  both  caustic  and  obscene,  a  memory  of  his 
soldiering  days :  in  the  presence  of  the  gardener's 
widow  there  was  no  need  to  control  himself,  and 
the  old  woman  was  accustomed  to  this  relief  of  his 
temper. 

"  Let  us  see,"  he  said  imperiously  after  a  long  silence. 
"  You,  who  know  me  better  than  anyone,  am  I  as 
bad  as  my  enemies  suppose  ?  Do  I  deserve  that  the 
Lord  should  punish  me  for  my  faults  ?  You  are  one  of 
God's  souls,  simple  and  good,  and  you  know  more 
of  all  this  by  your  instinct  than  all  the  doctors  of 
theology." 

"  You  bad,  Don  Sebastian  ?  Holy  Jesus  !  You  are 
a  man  like  all  others,  neither  more  nor  less;  but 
you  are  sincere,  all  of  one  piece,  without  deceit  or 
hypocrisy." 

"  A  man — you  have  said  it.  I  am  a  man  like  the 
rest.  We  who  attain  a  certain  height  are  like  the 
saints  on  the  fronts  of  the  churches  :  from  below  we 
cause  admiration  for  our  beauty,  but  viewed  closely 
we  cause  horror  from  the  ugliness  of  the  stones  corroded 
by  time.  However  much  we  wish  to  sanctify  ourselves, 
keeping  ourselves  apart,  we  are  still  nothing  but 
men — creatures  of  flesh  and  blood  like  those  who 
surround  us. 

"  In  the  Church  those  who  free  themselves  from 
human  passion  are  most  rare.  And  who  knows  if,  even 
among  those  few  privileged  ones,  some  are  not  driven 
by  the  demon  of  vanity  to  increase  the  asceticism  of 
their  lives,  thinking  of  the  glory  of  being  on  an  altar  ! 
The  priest  who  succeeds  in  subduing  his  flesh  falls  into 
avarice,  which  is  the  ecclesiastical  vice  par  excellence. 

T  2 


276  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

I  have  never  hoarded  from  vice ;  I  have  saved  for  my 
own,  but  never  for  myself." 

The  prelate  was  silent  for  a  long  while ;  but  in  his 
irresistible  desire  to  confide  in  the  simple  old  woman  he 
went  on. 

"  I  am  sure  that  God  will  not  despise  me  when  my 
hour  comes.  His  infinite  mercy  is  above  all  the  little- 
ness of  life.  What  has  been  my  fault  ?  To  have  loved 
a  woman,  as  my  father  loved  my  mother ;  to  have  had 
children  as  the  apostles  and  saints  had.  And  why 
not  ?  Ecclesiastical  celibacy  is  an  invention  of  men,  a 
detail  of  discipline  agreed  upon  at  the  councils  ;  but 
the  flesh  and  its  exigencies  are  anterior  by  many 
centuries ;  they  date  from  Paradise.  Whoever  crosses 
this  barrier,  not  from  vice,  but  from  irresistible 
passion,  because  he  cannot  conquer  the  impulse  to 
create  a  family  and  to  have  a  companion,  fails 
indubitably  towards  the  laws  of  the  Church,  but 
he  does  not  disobey  God.  I  fear  the  approach  of 
death  ;  many  nights  I  doubt  and  tremble  like  a  child. 
But  I  have  served  God  in  my  own  way.  In  former 
times  I  would  have  served  Him  with  my  sword,  fighting 
against  the  heretics.  Now  I  am  His  priest  and  do 
battle  for  Him  whenever  I  see  the  impiety  of  the  age 
curtailing  anything  of  His  glory.  The  Lord  will  forgive 
me,  receiving  me  into  His  bosom.  You,  who  are  so  good, 
Tomasa,  and  have  the  soul  of  an  angel  beneath  your 
rough  exterior,  do  you  not  think  so?  " 

The  gardener's  widow  smiled,  and  her  words  fell 
slowly  on  the  silence  of  the  dying  evening. 

"  Tranquillise  yourself,  Don  Sebastian.  I  have  seen 
many  saints  in  this  house,  and  they  have  been  worth 
much  less  than  you.  To  ensure  their  salvation  they 
would  have  abandoned  their  children.  To  maintain 
what  they  call  purity  of  soul  they  would  have  renounced 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  277 

their  family.  Believe  me,  no  saints  enter  here  ;  they 
are  men,  nothing  but  men.  You  have  nothing  to 
repent  of  in  following  the  impulse  of  your  heart.  God 
created  us  in  His  image  and  likeness,  and  also  planted 
in  us  family  love.  All  the  rest,  chastity,  celibacy  and 
other  trifles,  you  invented  for  yourselves,  to  distinguish 
yourselves  from  the  common  herd  of  people.  Be  a 
man,  Don  Sebastian,  and  the  more  you  show  yourself 
such  the  better  it  will  be  for  you,  and  the  better  the 
Lord  will  receive  you  in  His  glory." 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  FEW  days  after  Corpus,  Don  Antolin  went  one 
morning  in  search  of  Gabriel.  Silver  Stick  smiled  at 
Luna,  speaking  to  him  in  a  patronising  way. 

He  had  thought  of  him  all  night ;  it  pained  him  to  see 
him  idle,  walking  about  the  cloister  ;  it  was  the  want  of 
occupation  that  inspired  him  with  such  perverse  ideas. 

"  Let  us  see,"  he  continued,  "  would  it  suit  you  to 
come  down  with  me  every  afternoon  into  the  Cathedral, 
to  show  the  Treasury  and  the  other  curiosities  ?  A  great 
many  foreigners  come  who  can  scarcely  make  themselves 
understood  when  they  question  me  ;  you  will  understand 
them,  as  you  know  French  and  English,  and,  your  brother 
says,  many  other  languages.  The  Cathedral  would  be 
a  gainer,  as  it  would  show  these  strangers  that  we  have 
an  interpreter  at  our  disposal ;  you  would  be  doing  us  a 
favour  and  would  lose  nothing  by  it.  It  is  always  an 
amusement  to  see  new  faces ;  and  about  the  recom- 
pense .  .  ." 

Don  Antolin  stopped  here,  scratching  his  head  beneath 
his  skull  cap.  He  would  see  what  he  could  screw  out 
of  the  funds  of  the  Obreria  ;  if  just  at  first  nothing  could 
be  managed,  as  the  revenues  of  the  Primacy  were  meagre 
and  at  their  lowest  ebb,  no  doubt  something  could  be 
given  later  on. 

He  looked  anxiously  for  Gabriel's  answer,  who,  how- 
ever, was  quite  agreeable  ;  when  all  was  said  and  done 
he  was  a  guest  of  the  Cathedral  and  owed  it  something. 


THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  279 

And  from  that  afternoon  he  went  down  at  the  hour  of 
choir  to  show  the  foreigners  all  the  treasures  of  the 
church. 

There  was  no  lack  of  travellers  who  showed  Don 
Antolin's  coloured  tickets  waiting  for  the  time  to  see 
the  jewels.  Silver  Stick  could  never  see  a  stranger 
without  imagining  that  he  was  a  lord  or  a  duke,  and 
often  felt  very  much  surprised  at  the  shabbiness  of  their 
clothing  ;  according  to  his  ideas  only  the  great  ones  of 
the  earth  could  give  themselves  the  pleasure  of  travelling, 
and  he  opened  wide  his  incredulous  and  scandalised 
eyes  when  Gabriel  told  him  that  many  were  shoemakers 
from  London  or  shopkeepers  from  Paris,  who  during 
their  holidays  treated  themselves  to  a  trip  through  the 
ancient  country  of  the  Moors. 

Five  canons  in  their  choir  surplices  advanced  up  the 
nave,  each  one  holding  a  key  in  his  hand  ;  these  were  the 
guardians  of  the  treasure.  Each  one  opened  the  lock 
confided  to  his  custody,  the  door  swung  heavily,  and 
the  chapel,  with  its  antique  treasures,  was  opened.  In 
large  glass  cases,  like  a  museum,  was  displayed  the 
ancient  opulence  of  the  Cathedral :  statues  of  chiselled 
silver,  large  globes  crowned  by  graceful  little  figures  all 
of  precious  metal,  ivory  caskets  of  complicated  work, 
custodias  and  viriles^  of  gold,  enormous  gilt  dishes, 
embossed  with  mythological  subjects  reviving  the  joy 
of  paganism  in  that  sordid  and  dusty  corner  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  precious  stones  spread  their 
varied  colours  over  pectorals,  mitres  and  mantles  for 
the  Virgin.  There  were  diamonds  so  immense  as  to 
make  one  doubt  their  being  genuine,  emeralds  the  size 
of  pebbles,  amethysts,  topaz,  and  pearls — very  many 
pearls,  strewn  by  the  hundreds  and  thousands  on  the 

'  Virile — small  box  with  double  glass  in  which  the  Host  is 
exhibited. 


28o  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

Virgin's  garments.  The  foreigners  were  amazed  at  all 
this  wealth  and  dazzled  bv  the  quantity,  while  Gabriel, 
who  had  become  accustomed  to  see  it  daily,  looked  at 
it  carelessly.  The  Treasury  presented  a  deplorable 
spectacle  of  neglect :  the  riches  had  aged  with  the 
Cathedral,  the  diamonds  did  not  flash,  the  gold  seemed 
tarnished  and  dusty,  the  silver  was  blackened,  the  pearls 
were  opaque  and  sick,  the  smoke  from  the  wax  tapers 
and  the  damp  atmosphere  of  the  church  had  sadly 
dulled  everything. 

"  The  Church,"  said  Gabriel  to  himself,  "  ages  every- 
thing she  touches.  The  treasures  lose  their  brilliancy 
in  her  hands,  like  jewels  that  fall  into  the  power  of 
usurers.  The  diamond  becomes  dulled  in  the  bosom  of 
the  great  miser,  and  the  most  beautiful  picture  becomes 
blackened  on  her  altars." 

After  the  visit  to  the  Treasury  came  the  exhibition  of 
the  Ochavo,  the  octagonal  chapel  of  dark  marbles,  that 
pantheon  of  relics  where  the  most  repulsive  human 
remains — skulls  with  their  ghastly  gtin,  mummified  arms 
and  worm-eaten  vertebrae — were  shown  in  gold  or  silver 
shrines.  The  gross  and  credulous  piety  of  former  days 
displayed  itself  in  the  full  tide  of  unbelief,  so  that  even 
Don  Antolin,  so  uncompromising  when  he  spoke  of  the 
glories  of  his  Cathedral,  lowered  his  voice  and  hurried 
over  his  explanations  as  he  showed  a  piece  of  the  mantle 
worn  by  Santa  Leocadia  when  she  "appeared"  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Toledo,  quite  understanding  the  difficulty 
of  explaining  how  an  apparition  could  wear  garments 
of  stuff. 

Gabriel  translated  faithfully  Don  Antolin's  explanation, 
repeating  it  again  and  again  with  imperturbable  gravity, 
while  the  canons  who  escorted  the  batch  of  strangers 
drew  a  few  paces  away  with  an  absent  look,  to  avoid 
questions. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  281 

One  day  a  phlegmatic  Englishman  interrupted  the 
interpreter. 

"  And  have  you  not  amongst  all  these  things  a  feather 
from  the  wings  of  St.  Michael  ?  " 

"  No,  senor,  and  it  is  a  great  pity,"  said  Luna,  equally 
seriously,  "  but  you  will  probably  find  it  in  some  other 
Cathedral ;  we  cannot  have  everything  here." 

In  the  Chapter-house,  a  mixture  of  Arab  and  Gothic 
architecture,  the  foreigners  were  much  interested  by  the 
double  row  of  portraits  of  the  Toledan  archbishops 
hanging  on  the  wall,  with  their  mitres  and  golden 
croziers.  Gabriel  called  their  attention  to  the  picture 
of  Don  Cerebruno,  a  mediaeval  prelate,  so  called  from 
his  enormous  head  ;  but  it  was  the  wardrobe  which  more 
especially  surprised  the  foreigners. 

It  was  a  room  surrounded  by  large  cupboards  and 
shelves  of  old  wood  ;  above  these  the  walls  were  covered 
with  dusty  and  torn  pictures,  copies  of  Flemish  paint- 
ings that  the  canons  had  relegated  to  this  corner ; 
round  the  room  were  placed  in  line  the  ancient  arm- 
chairs of  the  church,  some  of  Spanish  workmanship, 
austere,  with  straight  lines  and  ravelled  coverings,  others 
of  Greek  design  with  curved  feet  inlaid  with  ivory. 
The  capes  and  chasubles  were  piled  on  the  shelves, 
according  to  colours,  with  the  collars  outside  the  heap, 
so  that  people  could  examine  the  wonderful  embroidery. 
A  whole  world  of  patterns  appeared  with  every  possible 
brilliancy  of  colour  on  a  few  inches  of  stuff.  The  astonish- 
ing art  of  the  ancient  embroiderers  made  the  silk  a 
series  of  vivid  pictures  ;  the  collar  and  the  narrow  stripes 
on  the  front  of  a  cape  were  large  enough  to  reproduce 
all  the  scenes  of  the  biblical  creation  and  the  passion  of 
Jesus.  Brocade  and  silk  unrolled  the  magnificence 
of  their  textures.  One  cape  was  a  garden  of  flame- 
coloured  carnations,  another  was  a  bed  of  roses  and 


282  THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

other  fantastic  flowers  with  twisted  stamens  and 
metalHc  petals.  The  sacristans  produced  from  the 
deep  shelves,  as  though  they  were  books,  the  splendid 
and  famous  frontals  of  the  high  altar.  There  were 
special  ones  for  each  festival;  that  for  St.  John's  Day 
was  brightly  coloured  with  verbenas,  purple  bunches  of 
grapes,  and  golden  lambs  that  fat  little  angels  were 
caressing  with  their  chubby  hands.  The  most  ancient, 
of  soft  and  rather  faded  colours,  showed  Persian  gardens 
with  blue  waters  in  which  fabulous  reddish  beasts  were 
drinking. 

The  visitors  were  bewildered  seeing  all  this  vast 
collection  of  stuffs  and  embroideries  unrolled  piece 
after  piece — all  the  past  of  a  Cathedral  which,  having 
millions  of  revenue,  employed  for  its  embellishment 
armies  of  embroiderers,  acquiring  the  richest  textures  of 
Valencia  and  Seville,  reproducing  in  gold  and  colours 
all  the  episodes  from  the  Holy  books,  and  the  torments 
of  the  martyrs,  all  the  glorious  legends  of  the  Church, 
immortalised  by  the  needle,  before  printing  had  been 
able  to  do  so. 

Gabriel  returned  every  evening  to  the  upper  cloister, 
wearied  out  with  walking  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
Cathedral.  During  the  first  few  days  he  was  delighted 
with  the  novelty  of  seeing  fresh  faces,  to  hear  the  rustle 
of  the  visitors  who,  branching  off  from  the  great  stream 
of  travellers  who  inundated  Europe,  came  as  far  as 
Toledo.  But  after  a  little  while  the  people  he  saw  every 
afternoon  seemed  to  him  just  the  same.  There  were 
the  same  questions,  the  same  stiff  and  hard-featured 
Englishwomen,  and  the  same  o-o-o-h"s  of  cold  and  con- 
ventional admiration,  and  the  same  identical  way  of  turn- 
ing their  backs  with  rude  pride  when  there  was  nothing 
else  to  be  shown.  Returning  to  the  quiet  of  the  upper 
cloister   after   the    daily   exhibition    of    the  Treasury, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  283 

Gabriel  thought  the  poverty  of  the  Claverias  even 
more  revolting  and  intolerable.  The  shoemaker  seemed 
sadder  and  yellower  in  the  rank  atmosphere  of  his  den, 
bending  over  his  bench  hammering  the  soles,  his  wife 
more  feeble  and  ill,  the  miserable  slave  of  maternity, 
weakened  by  hunger,  and  offering  to  her  little  son  as 
his  only  hope  of  food  those  flaccid  breasts  in  which  there 
was  nothing  left  but  a  drop  of  blood.  The  little  child 
was  dying !  Sagrario,  who  had  left  her  machine  to 
spend  the  greater  part  of  the  day  in  the  shoemaker's 
room  said  so  in  a  low  voice  to  her  uncle.  She  did  all  the 
work  of  the  house,  while  the  poor  mother,  motionless  in 
a  chair,  with  the  little  one  in  her  lap,  looked  at  it  with 
weeping  eyes.  When  the  baby  woke  from  its  stupor  it 
would  wearily  raise  its  head  from  its  little  neck,  which 
had  become  a  mere  thread  ;  the  mother  to  stifle  its 
feeble  moans  would  press  it  to  her  breast,  but  the  child 
would  turn  away  its  mouth  guessing  the  inutility 
of  expending  its  strength  on  that  rag  of  flesh  from 
which  it  could  only  succeed  in  extracting  the  last 
drop. 

Gabriel  examined  the  child,  noting  its  extreme 
emaciation  and  the  spots  that  scrofula  had  spread  over 
its  straw-coloured  skin.  He  shook  his  head  incredu- 
lously when  the  neighbours  who  had  gathered  round 
the  invalid  each  diagnosed  some  particular  ailment, 
and  recommended  every  imaginable  sort  of  household 
remedy,  from  decoctions  of  rare  herbs  and  stinking 
ointments  to  applications  on  the  chest  of  miracle  work- 
ing prints,  and  tracing  seven  crosses  on  the  navel  with 
as  many  paternosters. 

"  It  is  hunger,"  said  Luna  to  his  niece,  "  nothing  but 
hunger."  And  depriving  himself  of  part  of  his  own  food, 
he  sent  to  the  shoemaker's  house  the  milk  that  had  been 
brought  up  for  himself.     But  the  child's  stomach  could 


284  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

not  retain  the  liquid  too  substantial  for  its  weakness, 
and  threw  it  up  as  soon  as  swallowed.  The  Aunt 
Tomasa,  with  her  energetic  and  enterprising  character, 
brought  a  woman  from  outside  the  Cathedral  to  nourish 
the  child,  but  after  two  days,  and  before  the  effects 
became  visible,  she  came  no  more,  as  if  she  had  felt  dis- 
gusted at  the  miserable  and  corpse-like  little  body 
touching  her.  In  vain  the  gardener's  widow  searched  ; 
it  was  not  easy  to  find  generous  breasts  who  would  give 
their  milk  for  very  little  pay. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  child  was  dying.  All  the 
women  came  in  and  out  of  the  shoemaker's  house,  and 
even  Don  Antolin  would  stand  at  the  door  in  the 
mornings. 

**  How  is  the  little  one  ?  Just  the  same  ?  It  is  all  in 
God's  hands." 

And  he  would  retire,  doing  the  shoemaker  the  great 
charity  of  not  speaking  to  him  about  the  pesetas  he 
owed  him,  on  account  of  the  sick  child. 

**  Virgin's  Blue"  was  annoyed  by  this  incident,  which 
upset  the  calm  of  the  cloister,  and  disturbed  the  bliss  of 
his  digestion  as  a  happy  and  well-fed  servant  of  the 
Church.  It  was  a  shame  that  that  shoemaker  should 
be  allowed  to  live  in  the  Claverias  with  all  that  flock  of 
wretched  and  scurvy  children  ;  one  would  die  every 
month  ;  all  sorts  of  illness  would  lay  hold  on  them.  By 
what  right  were  they  in  the  Cathedral  when  they  drew 
no  wage  from  the  Obreria  ?  Such  stinking  excrescences 
ought  to  remain  outside  the  Lord's  house. 

His  mother-in-law  was  furious. 

"  Silence,  you  thief  of  the  saints !  "  she  cried.  "  Silence, 
or  I  will  throw  a  dish  at  you  !  We  are  all  sons  of  God, 
and  if  things  were  as  they  should  be,  all  the  poor 
ought  to  live  in  the  Cathedral.  Instead  of  saying 
such  things,  it  would  be  much  better  if  you  gave  those 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  285 

unhappy  people  part  of  what  you  have  stolen  from 
the  Virgin." 

The  sacristan  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  contempt. 
If  they  had  not  enough  to  eat  they  should  not  have  children. 
There  he  was  himself  with  only  one  daughter — he  did 
not  think  he  had  any  right  to  more — and  so  thanks  to 
Our  Lady  he  was  able  to  save  a  scrap  for  his  old  age. 

Tomasa  spoke  of  the  shoemaker's  child  to  the  good 
gentlemen  of  the  Chapter  when  they  came  into  the 
garden  for  a  few  minutes  after  choir.  They  listened 
absently,  putting  their  hands  in  their  cassocks. 

"  It  is  all  God's  will !     What  poverty  !  " 

And  some  gave  her  ten  centimes,  others  a  real,  one  or 
two  even  a  peseta.  The  old  woman  went  one  day  to 
the  Archbishop's  palace.  Don  Sebastian  was  engaged 
and  unable  to  see  her,  but  he  sent  her  two  pesetas  by 
one  of  the  servants. 

"  They  don't  mean  badly,"  said  the  gardener's 
widow,  giving  her  collection  to  the  poor  mother, 
"  but  each  one  lives  for  himself,  and  his  neigh- 
bour may  manage  as  he  can.  No  one  divides  his  cloak 
with  another — take  this,  and  see  how  you  can  get  out  of 
your  trouble." 

They  fed  a  little  better  in  the  shoemaker's  house  ;  the 
miserable  scrofulous  children  collected  in  the  cloister 
profited  most  by  the  baby's  illness ;  it  was  growing 
daily  weaker,  lying  motionless  for  hours,  with  almost 
imperceptible  breathing,  on  its  mother's  lap. 

When  the  unhappy  child  died,  all  the  people  of  the 
Claverias  rushed  to  the  home.  Inside  could  be  heard  the 
mother's  wailings,  strident,  interminable,  like  the  bellow- 
ing of  a  wounded  beast ;  outside  the  father  wept  silently, 
surrounded  by  his  friends. 

"  It  died  just  like  a  bird,"  he  said  with  long  pauses, 
his  words  broken  by  sobs.    "  His  mother  held  him  on  her 


286  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

knees — I  was  working — '  Antonio,  Antonio  ! '  she  called, 
*  see,  what  is  the  matter  with  the  child,  it  is  moving 
its  mouth  and  making  grimaces?'  I  ran  up  quickly,  its 
face  was  quite  dusky — as  if  it  had  a  veil  over  it.  It 
opened  its  mouth,  a  couple  of  twitches  with  its  eyes 
staring,  and  its  neck  fell  over — just  the  same  as  a  bird, 
just  the  same." 

He  wept,  repeating  constantly  the  resemblance 
between  his  son  and  those  birds  who  die  in  winter 
from  the  cold. 

The  bell-ringer  looked  gloomily  at  Gabriel. 

"  You  who  know  everything,  is  it  true  that  it  died  of 
hunger  ?  " 

And  the  Tato  with  his  scandalous  impetuosity  shouted 
loudly — 

"  There  is  no  justice  in  the  world  !  All  this  must  be 
altered  !  Fancy  a  child  dying  of  hunger  in  this  house, 
where  money  runs  like  water,  and  where  all  those 
creatures  are  dressed  in  gold  !  " 

When  the  little  corpse  was  carried  to  the  cemetery, 
the  cloister  seemed  quite  deserted  ;  all  its  life  was  con- 
centrated in  the  shoemaker's  house,  all  the  women 
surrounded  the  mother.  Despair  had  rendered  that 
sick  and  feeble  woman  furious.  She  no  longer  wept : 
her  child's  death  had  made  her  ferocious — she  wished  to 
bite  or  to  dash  her  skull  against  the  wall. 

"  Ay  !  my  s-o-o-o-n  !  my  Antonio  !  " 

At  night  Sagrario  and  the  other  women  remained 
in  the  house  to  look  after  her.  In  her  desperation  she 
wished  to  make  some  one  responsible  for  her  misfortune, 
and  she  fixed  on  those  highest  in  the  cloister.  Don 
Antolin  had  not  helped  her  with  the  smallest  alms  ;  his 
affected  niece  had  scarcel}'  been  in  to  see  the  little  one, 
nothing  interested  her  but  men. 

*'  It  is  all  Silver  Stick's  fault,"  wailed  the  poor  mother 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  287 

— "  he  is  a  thief.  He  grinds  our  poverty  with  his  usurer's 
snares.  Never  a  farthing  did  he  give  for  my  son.  And 
that  Mariquita  is  just  the  same.  Yes,  senor,  I  do  say  so. 
She  only  thinks  of  decking  herself  out  so  that  the  cadets 
may  see  her." 

"For  mercy's  sake,  woman,  they  will  hear  you,"  begged 
some  of  the  terrified  women. 

But  others  scouted  this  fear.  "  Let  Don  Antolin  and 
his  niece  hear  them !  What  did  it  matter  ?  The 
Claverias  were  tired  of  the  rapacity  of  the  uncle,  and 
the  magnificent  airs  that  ugly  woman  gave  herself! 
Because  they  were  poor  they  were  not  going  to  spend 
their  lives  trembling  before  that  couple.  God  only 
knew  what  the  uncle  and  niece  did  when  they  were 
alone  in  the  house  together  !  " 

A  breath  of  rebellion  had  passed  over  that  sleepy 
world.  It  was  the  unconscious  influence  of  Gabriel. 
What  he  had  said  to  his  friends  had  been  passed  on  to 
all  the  men  in  the  Claverias,  getting  even  to  the  women. 
They  were  confused  and  garbled  ideas,  that  very  few 
could  understand,  but  they  cherished  them  like  fresh 
pure  air  reviving  their  minds.  They  sounded  in  their 
ears  like  a  pleasant  echo  from  the  outside  world.  It 
was  sufficient  for  them  to  know  that  this  quiet  life 
of  submission  they  had  led  up  to  now  was  not 
immutable— they  had  a  right  to  something  better — 
and  that  human  beings  ought  to  rebel  against  injustice 
and  oppression. 

Don  Antolin,  who  knew  well  enough  the  crew  confided 
to  his  care,  was  not  long  in  perceiving  this  moral  upturn. 
He  felt  hostility  and  rebellion  on  ever}'  side.  The  debtors 
answered  him  haughtily,  alleging  their  poverty  as  a 
reason  for  no  longer  enduring  his  avarice  ;  his  imperious 
orders  were  tardily  executed,  and  he  had  a  clear  per- 
ception that  they  were  laughing  behind  his  back  as  he 


288  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

walked  through  the  cloister,  and  making  threatening 
gestures.  One  day  his  legs  trembled  beneath  him  and 
his  eyes  were  dimmed,  hearing  how  the  Perrero  replied 
to  one  of  his  reprimands,  having  returned  late  to  the 
Cathedral,  and  obliging  him  to  descend  and  open  the 
door  after  he  had  gone  to  bed.  The  Tato  made  him 
understand,  with  an  insolent  expression,  that  he  had 
bought  a  knife,  and  that  he  intended  its  first  fleshing  to 
be  in  the  bowels  of  some  priest  or  other  who  ground 
down  the  poor. 

His  niece  complained  to  Don  Antolin,  they  paid  no 
attention  to  her  and  flouted  her,  no  woman  now  ever 
came  to  help  her  gratuitously  in  her  household  duties. 
They  replied  insolently  that  those  who  wanted  servants 
must  pay  for  them.  What  was  her  uncle  thinking  about  ? 
It  was  certainly  time  to  assert  his  authority  and  to  lay 
a  heavy  hand  on  these  people. 

She  herself,  so  lively  and  energetic  in  her  own  house, 
was  now  obliged  to  retire  snorting  with  rage  or  weeping, 
whenever  she  stationed  herself  at  her  door.  All  the 
women  of  the  Claverias  wished  to  revenge  themselves 
for  their  former  thraldom,  standing  already  on  the 
declivity  of  disrespect. 

"  Look  at  her !  "  screamed  the  shoemaker's  wife  to  her 
neighbours,  "  always  so  dressed  up,  the  ugly  jade.  She 
decks  herself  with  the  blood  that  vampire  of  an  uncle 
sucks  from  the  poor." 

And  from  the  iron  gratings  of  the  upper  Claverias, 

giving  on  the  roofs,  there  was  generally  a  voice  singing 

the  ancient  couplet,  no  doubt  inspired  by  the  Cathedral 

garden — 

"  Las  amas  de  los  curas  y  los  laureles 
Como  nunca  dan  fruto  siempre  estan  verdes."* 

*  Priest's  housekeepers — like  laurels — never  have  any  fruit, 
because  they  are  evergreens. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  289 

It  was  this  that  ended  the  patience  of  Don  AntoHn  ; 
this  insulting  conjecture  about  himself  and  his  niece  that 
disturbed  his  miserly  chastity.  He  visited  the  cardinal 
to  complain  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  cloister,  but  His 
Eminence,  who  lived  in  a  perpetual  rage,  grew  furious 
listening  to  him  and  very  nearly  thrashed  him.  Why 
did  he  come  to  him  with  such  tales  ?  For  what  reason 
had  he  been  given  any  authority  ?  Was  there  nothing 
left  of  a  man  beneath  his  cassock  ?  He  who  was  wanting 
in  the  good  discipline  of  the  house — turn  him  out  into 
the  street  at  once  !  More  energy,  and  be  careful  never 
to  trouble  him  again  with  such  insignificant  tales,  other- 
wise the  person  who  would  be  turned  into  the  street 
would  be  Silver  Stick  himself. 

Don  Antolin  felt  a  little  braver  after  this  interview, 
although  he  swore  mentally  never  again  to  visit  that 
terrible  prelate.  He  was  determined  to  reassert  his 
authority,  by  punishing  the  weakest,  whom  he  considered 
as  the  origin  of  all  these  scandals.  The  shoemaker 
should  be  expelled  from  the  Claverias,  as  he  was  there 
through  no  other  right  but  that  his  wife  had  been  born 
there.  Mariquita,  bewildered  by  her  uncle's  energy, 
must  needs  speak  to  some  one  about  these  intentions, 
and  so  the  news  circulated  through  the  cloister. 

Don  Antolin  did  not  dare  to  move  a  step  further, 
terrified  by  the  silent  unanimity  with  which  the  whole 
population  rose  against  him. 

The  Tato  looked  at  him  with  mocking  and  threatening 
eyes,  in  which  Silver  Stick  could  plainly  read  "  Remem- 
ber the  knife  " ;  but  what  terrified  Don  Antolin  more  than 
anything  was  the  silence  of  the  bell-ringer,  and  the 
savage  and  hostile  glance  with  which  he  responded  to 
his  words. 

Even  the  good  Wooden  Staff,  Esteban,  protested  in 
his  own  way,  saying  quietly  to  Don  Antolin  : 

c.  u 


2goTHE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

"  Is  it  really  true  that  you  intend  turning  out  the 
shoemaker  ?  You  will  do  wrong,  very  wrong,  for  after 
all  he  is  very  poor,  and  his  wife  was  born  in  the 
cloister.  These  innovations  always  bring  misfortune, 
Don  AntoHn." 

So  the  priest,  finding  he  had  no  support,  and  seeing 
hostility  on  every  side,  put  off  his  energetic  resolutions 
till  the  following  day,  even  reproving  his  niece  when 
she  threw  his  weakness  in  his  face. 

The  Canon  Obrero,  from  whom  he  had  implored  help, 
did  not  care  to  disturb  the  blessed  peace  of  his  existence 
by  mixing  himself  up  in  the  quarrels  of  the  smaller 
people.  It  was  Silver  Stick's  own  affair ;  he  could  punish 
or  expel  any  one  he  thought  fit  without  fear  of  anybody. 
But  Don  Antolin,  dreading  the  responsibiHty  that  might 
accrue  from  energetic  action,  ended  by  delivering  him- 
self over  to  Gabriel  and  begging  for  his  assistance.  That 
man  was  the  one  who  wielded  the  real  authority  in  the 
upper  cloister ;  all  those  who  had  listened  to  him  followed 
his  advice  blindly. 

"  Help  me,  Gabrielillo,"  said  the  priest  with  an 
agonised  expression.  "  If  you  cannot  restore  order,  this 
will  end  badly ;  they  even  insult  my  poor  niece,  and 
some  day  I  shall  turn  half  the  people  of  the  Claverias  out 
into  the  street,  as  I  hold  authority  from  His  Eminence 
for  everything.  Ay,  seiior !  I  do  not  know  what  has 
happened  here  ;  surely  the  devil  must  have  got  loose  in 
our  upper  cloister !  How  these  people  have  changed 
to  me !  " 

Luna  guessed  Don  Antolin's  thoughts  and  his  allu- 
sions to  the  devil  who  had  got  loose  in  the  cloister. 
That  devil  was  himself.  No  doubt  Silver  Stick  was 
right.  Without  intending  it  he  had  introduced  discord 
into  the  Cathedral.  He  had  sought  calm  and  forgetful- 
ness  in    that   refuge,    and   the   spirit  of  rebellion  had 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  291 

followed  him  even  into  this  concealment.  He  recalled 
his  thoughts  on  the  first  day,  when  he  was  alone  in  the 
silent  cloister;  he  wished  to  be  another  stone  in  the 
Cathedral,  without  thought,  without  feeling,  to  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life  fixed  to  that  ruin,  with  the  embryonic 
life  of  the  fungus  on  the  buttress,  but  the  spirit  of  the 
outside  world  had  entered  in  with  him. 

Luna  remembered  how  travellers  in  time  of  plague 
had  crossed  the  sanitary  cordon — they  were  well  and 
happy,  nothing  betrayed  the  infection  in  their  bodies  ; 
but  the  poisonous  germs  travelled  in  the  folds  of  their 
clothes  and  in  their  hair,  carrying  death  without  know- 
ing it,  helping  it  to  leap  all  barriers  and  obstacles, 
without  being  in  the  least  aware  of  it.  He  was  the 
same,  but  instead  of  spreading  death,  he  spread 
tumultuous  and  rebellious  life.  The  protest  of  the 
lower  orders  that  had  been  surging  throughout  the 
world,  for  more  than  a  century,  had  entered  with  him 
into  this  still  remaining  fragment  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  He  had  awakened  those  men,  who  had  been 
like  the  sleepers  in  the  legend,  motionless  in  their  cave 
for  ages,  while  the  centuries  rolled  on  and  the  world 
was  transformed. 

The  awakening  of  these  people  was  sudden  and 
violent,  like  that  of  a  people  in  revolution.  They  were 
ashamed  of  the  old  errors  that  they  had  worshipped, 
and  this  made  them  receive  as  gospel  everything  that 
was  new,  without  quailing  before  the  consequences. 

It  was  the  faith  of  a  people  which,  once  it  takes  form, 
rushes  onwards,  accepting  everything,  justifying  every- 
thing, the  only  requirement  being  its  novelty,  and 
casting  aside  contemptuously  those  traditional  principles 
which  it  had  just  abandoned. 

The  cowardly  submission  of  Silver  Stick  was  the  first 
victory  of  those  more  daring  souls  who  formed  Luna's 

u  2 


292  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

surrounding.  The  avaricious  and  despotic  priest 
lowered  his  eyes  before  them,  smilingly  anxious  to 
make  himself  agreeable.  This  they  owed  to  the  master, 
for  he  was  now  the  true  ruler  of  the  upper  cloister. 
Don  Antolin  consulted  him  before  making  any  arrange- 
ments, and  his  ugly  niece  smiled  on  Gabriel  as  the 
daughters  of  the  conquered  might  smile  on  a  triumphant 
hero. 

They  now  no  longer  hid  themselves  in  the  bell- 
ringer's  house  for  their  meetings ;  they  formed  a  circle 
in  the  cloister  during  the  evenings,  discussing  the 
audacious  doctrines  taught  by  Luna,  without  now 
being  intimidated  by  the  religious  atmosphere.  They 
sat  with  the  look  of  lords,  surrounding  their  master, 
while  in  the  opposite  gallery  walked  Silver  Stick  like  a 
black  phantom,  reading  his  book  of  hours,  and  casting 
now  and  then  an  uneasy  glance  on  the  group.  Even 
his  ancient  vassal,  the  chaplain  of  the  nuns,  had  dared 
to  leave  him  to  go  and  listen  to  Gabriel. 

Don  Antolin  with  the  keenness  of  his  ecclesiastical 
training,  guessed  the  intensity  of  the  evil  produced  by 
Luna.  But  for  the  moment  his  egoism  was  stronger 
than  his  reflection.  Let  them  talk — what  did  it  matter  ? 
It  was  only  a  little  ebullition  of  pride  in  those  people, 
nothing  more.  All  words  and  wind  in  the  head. 
Meanwhile  they  had  better  not  ask  for  any  more 
money  !  In  exchange  he  had  a  very  good  auxiliar}^  in 
Luna,  who,  sharing  his  authority,  spared  him  many 
annoyances,  and  the  Cathedral  disposed  of  his  services 
gratuitously  as  interpreter  to  the  foreigners. 

These  already  began  to  talk  of  the  great  intelligence 
and  education  of  the  Toledan  sacristans,  a  praise  Don 
Antolin  received  as  though  it  were  entirely  deserved  by 
himself. 

Gabriel  was  far  more  alarmed  than  Don  Antolin  at 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  293 

the  effect  of  his  words  ;  he  bitterly  repented  having  been 
led  to  speak  of  his  past  and  of  his  ideals.  He  had 
sought  for  peace  and  silence,  but  he  was  still  surrounded, 
though  in  a  smaller  degree,  by  the  atmosphere  of 
proselytism  and  blind  enthusiasm,  as  in  the  days  of  his 
martyrdom.  He  had  wished  to  efface  himself  and  to 
disappear  on  entering  the  Cathedral,  but  fate  mocked 
him,  reviving  the  agitation  in  the  midst  of  his  conceal- 
ment, to  disturb  the  peace  of  that  ruin.  Society  had 
forgotten  him,  but  he  unconsciously  was  agitating, 
and  drawing  to  himself  the  attention  of  the  outside 
world. 

The  enthusiasm  of  these  neophytes  was  a  danger,  and 
his  brother,  the  Wooden  Staff,  without  understanding 
the  full  extent  of  the  evil,  warned  him  with  his  usual 
good  sense. 

*'  You  are  turning  the  heads  of  these  poor  men,  with 
the  things  you  tell  them.  Be  careful  ;  they  are  very 
well  meaning,  but  they  are  very  ignorant.  And  having 
been  ignorant  all  their  lives,  it  is  dangerous  to  turn  such 
men  into  sages  at  one  blow.  It  is  as  if  I,  being 
accustomed  to  the  homely  stew,  were  taken  to-day  to 
His  Eminence's  table.  I  should  gorge  myself  and 
drink  too  much ;  at  night  I  should  have  a  colic,  and 
should  probably  hop  the  twig." 

Gabriel  acknowledged  the  truth  of  this  prudent 
advice,  but  he  could  not  draw  back — he  was  driven  on 
by  the  affection  of  his  disciples  and  his  own  ardour  as 
propagandist.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  him  to  see  the 
wonder  in  those  virgin  minds,  entering  tumultuously 
into  the  luminous  palaces  constructed  by  human 
thought  during  the  last  century. 

The  description  of  the  future  of  humanity  inflamed 
all  Luna's  ardour.  He  spoke  of  the  happiness  of  men, 
after  a  revolutionary  crisis  which  would  change  all  the 


294  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

organisation  of  humanity  with  mystic  rapture,   like    a 
Christian  preacher  describing  heaven. 

"  Man  ought  to  seek  happiness  solely  in  this  world,  for 
after  death  there  only  existed  the  infinite  life  of  matter 
with  its  endless  combinations,  but  the  human  being  was 
effaced  as  entirely  as  a  plant  or  an  animal — he  fell  into 
oblivion  when  he  sank  into  the  tomb.     Immortality  of 
the  soul  was  one  of  the  illusions  of  human  pride  worked 
up  by  religions,  who  laid  their  foundations  on  this  lie. 
It   was   only  in   this  life  that  man  could  find  heaven. 
Everyone  embarked  on  immensity  in  the  same  ship,  the 
earth.     We  were  all  comrades  in  our  dangers  and  our 
struggles,  and  we  ought  to  look  upon  one  another  as 
brothers  seeking  the  common  welfare.     And  what  about 
the  unequal  distribution  of  goods,  the  division  of  classes, 
the  ability  to   work,  and,   above   all,  the  struggle  for 
existence,    that    the    philosophers   and    poets    of    the 
oppressing  classes  paint  as  an  indispensable  condition 
of  progress  ?     Communism  is  the  holiest  aspiration  of 
humanity,  the  divine  dream  of  man  since  he  began  to 
think  in  the  first  dawn  of  civilisation.     Religions  had 
endeavoured  to  establish  it,  but  religion  had  been  ship- 
wrecked and   was  moribund,  and  only   science  could 
enforce  it  in  the  future.     They  must  stop  on  the  way 
they   were   going,    as  humanity  was  marching  on  the 
road  to  perdition,  therefore  it  was  necessary  to  return 
to  the  point  of  departure.      The  first  man  who   had 
cultivated  a  portion  of  the  earth  and  garnered  the  fruits 
of  his  toil,  thought  it  was  his  for  ever,  and  left  it  to  his 
sons  as  their   property;   they  engaged  other    men    to 
cultivate  it  for  them — so  these  men  became  robbers, 
appropriators  of  the    universal  heritage.      It  was  the 
same   with   those   who   possessed   themselves    of    the 
invention    of  human    genius,    machines,    etc.,    for  the 
benefit   of    a   small    majority,    subjecting   the    rest   of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  295 

mankind  to  the  law  of  hunger.  No,  everything  was  for 
everyone.  The  earth  belonged  to  all  human  beings 
without  exception,  like  the  sun  and  the  air ;  its  products 
ought  to  be  divided  between  everyone  with  due  regard 
to  their  necessities.  It  was  shameful  that  man,  who 
only  appeared  for  an  instant  on  this  planet — a  minute,  a 
second,  for  his  life  was  no  more  than  this  in  the  life  of 
immensity — should  spend  this  mere  breath  of  existence 
fighting  with  his  kin,  robbing  them,  excited  by  the 
fever  of  plunder,  not  even  enjoying  the  majestic  calm  of 
a  wild  beast,  which  when  it  has  eaten,  rests,  without 
ever  thinking  of  doing  harm  from  vanity  or  avarice. 
There  ought  to  be  neither  rich  nor  poor — nothing  but 
men.  The  only  inevitable  division  must  be  that 
between  brains  more  or  less  highly  organised.  But 
the  wise,  from  the  fact  of  being  so,  ought  to  show  their 
greatness,  sacrificing  themselves  for  the  more  simple, 
without  seeking  to  assist  the  greatness  of  their  minds 
by  material  advantages ;  for  in  stomachs  there  were  no 
categories  or  ranks.  Everything  that  exists,  even  the 
smallest  production  that  man  considers  his  exclusive 
work,  is  the  work  of  the  past  and  present  generations. 
By  what  right  can  anyone  say  '  This  is  mine,  mine 
only  '  ?  Man  is  not  consulted  before  he  is  formed  if  he 
wishes  to  burst  forth  into  life.  He  is  born — and  from 
the  fact  of  being  born  he  has  a  right  to  well-being." 
Gabriel  proclaimed  his  supreme  formula,  "  Everything 
for  everyone,  and  well-being  for  all." 

His  friends  listened  in  profound  silence.  The  right 
to  well-being  sank  profoundly  into  their  minds  ;  it  was 
the  saying  that  most  cruelly  touched  their  poverty, 
taunted  by  the  contrast  of  the  wealth  of  the  Church. 

Don  Martin,  the  young  chaplain,  was  the  only  one 
who  timidly  raised  any  objections  to  the  master's  sayings. 
He  wished  to  know  if,  when  everything  was  for  everyone. 


296  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

when  man  should  have  recognised  his  right  to  happiness, 
without  laws  or  compulsion  to  force  him  to  production — 
would  he  work  ?  seeing  that  work  was  a  necessity, 
and  not  a  virtue,  as  those  who  employ  labour  say,  to 
glorify  it. 

Gabriel  loudly  affirmed  the  necessity  of  work  in  the 
future.  The  man  of  the  future  would  work  without 
being  forced  to  do  so  by  his  necessities  ;  he  would  not  be 
ruled  by  the  body  and  its  imperious  requirements;  his 
conscience  would  be  inspired  with  the  clear  under- 
standing of  solidarity  with  his  fellows  and  the  certainty 
that  if  one  abandoned  social  duties  others  would  follow 
the  example,  thus  rendering  life  in  common  impossible 
and  so  returning  to  the  actual  times  of  poverty  and 
robbery. 

"  Why  do  not  the  few  men  of  culture  and  sound 
conscience  living  at  present  kill  and  rob  ?  "  exclaimed 
Gabriel.  "  It  is  not  through  fear  of  the  law  and  its 
representatives,  for  a  clear  intelligence,  if  it  takes  the 
trouble,  can  easily  find  ways  of  evading  both  ;  neither 
can  it  be  through  fear  of  eternal  penalties  and  divine 
punishment,  as  such  men  do  not  believe  in  these  inven- 
tions of  the  past.  It  is  from  that  respect  to  his  fellows 
which  is  felt  by  every  elevated  mind,  from  the  con- 
sideration that  all  violence  should  be  avoided,  for  if 
everyone  gave  themselves  over  to  it,  all  social  life  must 
disappear.  When  this  understanding,  which  now  only 
belongs  to  a  few,  embraces  all  humanity,  men  will  live 
ruled  by  their  own  consciences  without  laws  or  police, 
working  from  social  duty,  without  requiring  man  to  be 
the  only  spring  of  activit}',  and  sweating  without  com- 
passion to  be  the  only  way  to  ease." 

Throughout  all  his  revolutionary  raptures  Luna  had 
no  illusions  as  to  the  present.  Humanity  was  at  present 
an  infected  land,  in  which  the  best  seeds  rotted,  or  which 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  297 

at  best  produced  only  poisonous  fruits ;  we  must  wait 
till  the  equalising  revolution  begun  in  the  human  con- 
science a  century  ago  should  be  completed,  after  that  it 
would  be  possible  and  easy  to  change  the  basis  of  society ; 
he  had  a  blind  faith  in  the  future.  Man  must  progress 
in  the  same  way  as  communities ;  these  reckoned  their 
evolutions  by  centuries,  but  man  by  millions  of  years. 
How  could  a  man  of  to-day  be  compared  to  the  biped 
animal  of  prehistoric  times,  though  bearing  visibly  the 
traces  of  the  animalism  from  which  he  had  lately 
emerged  ?  Living  in  fellowship  with  his  ancestors 
the  monkeys,  the  principal  difference  being  the  first 
babblings  of  speech,  and  the  first  trembling  spark 
that  began  to  burn  in  his  brain. 

From  the  ravenous  beast  of  former  days,  suffering 
from  all  the  cruel  forces  of  nature  and  living  in  fraternal 
misery  with  the  lower  animals,  the  man  of  to-day  was 
evolved,  asserting  his  superiority  to  his  ancestors,  domi- 
nating all  nature.  From  the  men  of  to-day,  in  whom 
the  passions  of  their  former  animalism  are  finding  their 
equilibrium  with  the  gradual  unfolding  of  the  mind,  will 
arise  that  superior  and  perfect  being  indicated  by  philo- 
sophers, pure  from  all  animal  egoism,  and  endeavouring 
to  change  the  actual  cruel,  restless,  and  uncertain  life, 
into  a  period  of  happy  and  prosperous  equality. 

The  animalism  at  present  dominant  in  man  exas- 
perated Gabriel ;  it  was  the  great  stumbling-block  to  all 
his  generous  views  of  the  future,  and  he  explained  to 
his  astonished  listeners  the  transformations  of  natural 
creatures  and  of  the  origin  of  man,  and  the  wondrous 
poem  of  the  evolution  of  nature  from  the  original  pro- 
toplasm to  the  infinite  varieties  of  life.  We  still  carry 
in  us  the  marks  of  our  origin.  One  could  not  help 
laughing  at  the  God  of  the  Jews,  who  had  modelled  a 
man  from  clay,  like  a  sculptor.    Unlucky  artist  !    Science 


298  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

pointed  out  much  carelessness  and  bungling  in  His  work, 
without  being  able  to  justify  such  mistakes.  The  skin 
of  our  bodies  did  not  serve  us  as  a  covering  like  the  fur 
of  an  animal.  How  could  we  then  believe  it  ?  Why 
were  nipples  given  to  human  males,  if  they  were  of  no 
use  for  milk  giving  ?  Why  was  the  vertebral  column  at 
the  back  of  the  body  as  in  quadrupeds,  when  it  would 
have  been  more  logical,  in  creating  a  man  who  stands  on 
his  feet,  to  place  it  in  the  centre  of  the  body  as  a  strong 
support,  thus  avoiding  the  curvatures  and  weakness  of 
the  spine  that  are  now  suffered  by  this  disequilibrium 
in  the  support  of  its  weight  ? 

Gabriel  enumerated  the  various  inexplicable  incon- 
sistencies and  incongruities  found  in  the  human  body, 
presuming  it  to  be  of  divine  origin. 

"  I  feel  prouder,"  said  he,  "  of  my  animal  origin  ;  to 
be  a  lineal  descendant  of  inferior  beings  than  to  have 
emerged  imperfect  from  the  hand  of  a  stupid  God.  I 
feel  the  same  satisfaction  that  a  nobleman  feels  in 
speaking  of  his  ancestors  when  I  think  of  our  remote 
forefathers,  those  men-beasts,  exposed  like  the  animals 
to  all  the  cruel  severity  of  nature,  who,  little  by  little, 
through  hundreds  of  centuries,  have  transformed  them- 
selves, triumphing  in  the  unfolding  of  their  minds, 
their  brains,  and  their  social  instincts.  Making  clothes, 
edible  foods,  arms,  tools  and  houses,  neutralising  the 
exterior  influences  of  nature.  What  hero  or  discoverer 
in  the  four  thousand  years  comprising  our  history  can 
compare  with  those  elementary  men  who  have  slowly 
evolved  and  maintained  on  the  earth  the  existence  of 
our  species,  exposed  thousands  of  times  to  annihilation. 
The  day  on  which  our  ancestors  cared  for  the  sick  and 
wounded,  instead  of  abandoning  them  as  all  animals 
had  previously  done ;  on  which  the  first  seed  was 
planted,  the  first  arrow  shot,  brought  nature  face  to  face 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  299 

with  the  greatest  of  her  revolutions.  Only  one  in  the 
future  will  be  able  to  equal  it ;  if  man  in  remote  times 
was  able  to  free  his  body,  now  he  requires  the  great 
revolution  to  free  his  mind.  The  races  who  go  furthest 
in  their  intellectual  development  will  be  the  ultimate 
survivors ;  they  will  be  masters  of  the  earth,  destroying 
all  others.  The  least  wise  in  those  days  will  probably 
be  far  superior  to  the  most  cultivated  intellects  of  the 
present  times.  Each  individual  will  find  his  happiness 
in  the  happiness  of  his  fellows,  and  no  one  will  try  to 
exercise  compulsion  on  his  neighbour.  No  laws  or 
penalties  will  exist,  and  voluntary  associations  will 
supply  through  the  influence  of  reason  the  present 
power  of  authority.  This  will  be  in  the  future 
— far,  very  far  off.  But  what  do  centuries  matter 
in  the  life  of  humanity!  They  are  like  seconds  in 
our  existence.  On  the  day  when  man  shall  be  trans- 
formed into  this  superior  being,  with  the  full  develop- 
ment of  all  his  intellectual  faculties,  now  so  embrj'onic, 
this  earth  will  no  longer  be  the  vale  of  tears  spoken  of 
by  religion,  but  the  paradise  dreamed  of  by  the  poets." 
In  spite  of  the  enthusiasm  with  which  Gabriel  spoke, 
his  hearers  did  not  appear  to  share  these  illusions. 
They  were  silent,  and  their  attitude  was  one  of  coldness 
before  the  immense  distance  of  that  future  to  which 
their  master  confided  all  his  hopes  of  universal  pros- 
perity. They  wished  for  it  at  once,  with  the  eagerness 
of  a  child  who  is  shown  a  dainty  which  is  afterwards 
put  out  of  its  reach.  The  sacrifices,  the  slow  work  for 
the  future,  struck  no  chord  in  their  minds.  From 
Gabriel's  explanations  they  only  drew  the  fact  that 
they  were  unhappy,  but  that  they  had  the  same  right 
to  happiness  and  comfort  as  those  privileged  few  whom 
they  had  formerly  respected  in  their  ignorance.  As  a 
certain  portion  of  human  felicity  belonged  to  them  they 


300  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

wished  to  possess  it  at  once,  without  delay  or  resistance, 
with  all  the  fervour  of  one  claiming  what  belonj:^s  to 
him.  Luna  remarked  in  this  silence  a  certain  rebellion, 
like  those  ironical  gestures  with  which  his  companions 
in  Barcelona  had  received  his  illusions  about  the  future 
and  his  anathemas  against  violence  of  action. 

These  ardent  neophytes  outdistanced  their  teacher ; 
they  listened  to  him  with  respect,  but  they  were 
obliged  to  isolate  themselves  from  him  in  order  to 
digest  his  teachings  in  their  own  fashion.  Don  Martin 
was  the  only  one  who  followed  him  in  his  visionary 
excursions  into  the  future.  The  bell-ringer,  the  organ- 
blower,  the  shoemaker  and  the  Tato  now  went  up 
nightly  to  the  bell-ringer's  house,  without  summoning 
the  master,  and  there  they  gave  vent  to  their  hatred 
of  everything  existing,  under  the  forgotten  old  prints, 
yellow  and  wrinkled,  which  pictured  the  inglorious 
episodes  of  the  Carlist  war. 

This  nocturnal  reunion  was  a  continual  complaint 
against  social  injustice.  They  thought  themselves  even 
more  unfortunate  when  they  took  an  exact  review  of 
their  situation.  The  shoemaker  recalled  with  tearful 
eyes  the  little  child  who  had  died  of  hunger,  and  spoke 
of  the  misery  of  his  offspring,  so  numerous  as  to  render 
his  work  useless.  The  organ-blower  spoke  of  his 
miserable  old  age,  the  six  reals  daily  during  his  life, 
without  any  hope  of  earning  more.  The  Tato,  in  the 
fits  of  rage  of  a  bullying  coxcomb,  proposed  to  behead 
all  the  canons  in  the  choir  some  evening  and  then  to  set 
fire  to  the  Cathedral.  And  the  bell-ringer,  gloomy  and 
scowling,  said  aloud,  following  up  the  course  of  his 
thoughts  : 

"  And  below  so  much  wealth  that  is  of  no  use  to 
anybody — amassed  from  pure  pride — thieves  !  robbers  !  " 

Gabriel  returned  to  pass  his  days  by  Sagrario's  side. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  301 

His  disciples  hid  themselves  daily  more  carefully  in 
their  isolation  in  the  tower,  Don  Martin  had  his 
mother  ill,  and  could  not  leave  the  convent. 

Silver  Stick  felt  quite  satisfied  with  Luna  seeing  him 
alone,  believing  that  it  was  he  who  had  alienated  his 
disciples,  cutting  short  in  this  way  his  dangerous  con- 
versations so  as  to  restore  order  in  the  cloister.  One  day 
he  addressed  him  smilingly  with  a  patronising  manner. 

"  You  will  be  rewarded  for  your  good  conduct, 
Gabrielillo,  much  sooner  than  you  expect.  Did  I  not 
say  I  would  look  out  for  something  for  you  in  exchange 
for  the  help  you  gave  me  in  showing  the  treasury  ? 
Well,  now  you  have  it.  From  next  week  two  pesetas 
daily  will  fall  into  your  purse  like  two  suns.  Are  you 
equal  to  staying  all  night  in  the  Cathedral  ?  The 
older  watchman,  the  one  who  was  a  civil  guard,  is  tired 
of  it,  and  is  going  home  to  his  own  village.  It  appears 
that  since  his  dog  died  he  has  taken  a  dislike  to  the 
duties.  The  other  watchman  is  very  poorly  and  wants 
a  companion.  Will  you  undertake  it?  If  it  were 
winter  I  should  not  say  anything  about  it,  as  you  cough 
too  much  to  spend  the  night  down  there ;  but  in 
summer  the  Cathedral  is  the  coolest  place  in  Toledo. 
What  lovely  nights  !  And  by  the  time  bad  weather 
comes  on  we  will  have  found  you  some  better  place. 
You  are  trustworthy,  though  your  head  is  rather  light ; 
but  you  come  of  an  honoured  and  well-known  family, 
which  is  what  is  wanted.     Do  you  accept  ?  " 

Luna  accepted,  declaring  his  intention  to  Esteban, 
when  the  latter  objected  on  account  of  his  weak 
health.  He  would  only  undertake  the  watchman's 
duties  during  the  summer ;  besides,  two  pesetas  a  day 
were  even  more  than  Wooden  Staff  earned  ;  the  income 
of  the  family  would  be  doubled,  and  it  would  be  a  pity 
to  lose  such  a  good  opportunity. 


302  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

That  evening  Sagrario  spoke  to  her  uncle  praising  the 
energy  which  prompted  him  to  undertake  any  sort  of 
work  so  as  not  to  be  a  charge  on  the  family. 

They  were  in  the  cloister  leaning  on  the  balustrade  ; 
below  was  the  dark  garden  with  its  waving  branches, 
above  a  summer  sky  veiled  by  the  heat  haze  which 
dulled  the  brightness  of  the  stars.  They  were  alone  in 
the  four-sided  gallery.  The  lighted  windows  of  the 
Chapel-master's  little  room  threw  a  square  of  red  on 
the  opposite  roofs.  They  could  hear  the  harmonium 
playing  slowly  and  sadly,  and  when  it  stopped  the 
shadow  of  the  musician  passed  and  repassed  over  the 
square  of  light  with  his  nervous  gestures,  which,  enlarged 
bythe  reflection, appeared  themostgrotesquecontortions. 

The  nocturnal  calm  and  darkness  surrounded  Gabriel 
and  Sagrario  with  a  gentle  caress  ;  that  mysterious  fresh- 
ness was  falling  from  above  which  seems  to  revive  droop- 
ing spirits  and  magnify  old  remembrances.  The  Church 
seemed  to  them  as  an  immense  sleeping  beast,  in  whose 
lap  they  had  found  peace  and  protection. 

Gabriel  spoke  of  his  past,  in  order  to  convince  the 
young  woman  that  his  work  in  the  Cathedral  would 
not  be  very  arduous.  He  had  suffered  much  ;  there 
was  no  bitterness  that  he  had  not  tasted ;  he  had 
endured  hunger,  terrible  hunger,  in  his  peregrinations 
through  the  world.  He  did  not  know  which  were  the 
most  painful,  his  martyrdom  in  the  dungeons  of  the 
gloomy  castle,  or  his  days  of  despair  in  the  streets  of 
crowded  cities,  seeing  food  and  gold  through  the  glass 
windows  of  the  shops  while  his  head  was  swimming 
with  the  dizziness  of  hunger.  He  could  endure  his 
misery  while  he  wandered  alone  through  the  cruel 
selfishness  of  civilisation  ;  but  the  most  horrible  days 
were  those  in  which  he  shared  his  vagabond  poverty 
with  Lucy,  his  gentle  and  melancholy  companion. 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  303 

Gabriel  spoke  of  the  Englishwoman  as  of  a  dead 
sister. 

"  Had  you  known  her,  Sagrario,  you  would  have  loved 
her.  She  was  a  strong  woman,  a  brave  companion, 
united  to  me  more  by  the  community  of  thought  than 
by  carnal  attraction.  I  loved  her  when  I  first  saw  her. 
I  hardly  know  if  it  was  love  that  we  felt ;  poets  have 
written  so  many  lies  about  love,  and  have  falsified  it  in 
such  an  exaggerated  way,  that  I  do  not  for  certain 
know  what  it  is." 

He  spoke  to  the  young  woman  of  love,  explaining  it 
according  to  his  beliefs.  Goethe  had  defined  it  as  an 
"  elective  affinity,"  speaking  as  a  man  of  science  and  not 
as  a  poet,  using  the  term  that  chemistry  gives  to  the 
tendency  of  two  substances  to  unite  and  form  a  distinct 
product.  Two  beings  between  whom  no  affinity  existed 
could  meet  through  false  laws  of  life  in  perpetual 
contact,  but  they  could  not  mix  or  merge  into  one 
another.  This  happened  more  often  than  not  between 
the  individuals  of  different  sexes  who  peopled  the 
earth  ;  a  passing  sentimentality  could  exist,  or  carnal 
caprice,  but  seldom  love.  The  poor  invalid  Lucy  was 
his  affinity  ;  they  met  and  they  loved.  In  their  pity 
for  human  miseries,  their  hatred  of  inequalities  and 
injustice,  their  self-abnegation  in  the  cause  of  the  humble 
and  unfortunate  they  were  equal ;  they  were  not  only 
united  by  their  hearts  but  by  their  brains. 

She  was  plain,  with  a  soft  and  sad  plainness  that 
seemed  to  Luna  the  supreme  ideal  of  beauty  in  the 
midst  of  that  struggling  world  of  unfortunates  and 
victims.  She  was  the  image  of  a  woman  of  the  people 
reared  in  the  workmen's  slums  of  great  cities,  anamic 
from  the  mephitic  air  of  the  den  in  which  she  was  born 
and  from  bad  and  insufficient  food,  with  a  wretched 
body,  all  feminine  graces  paralysed  in  their  development 


304  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

by  the  rough  work  done  in  her  childhood.  Her  Hps, 
that  great  ladies  paint  red,  were  violet ;  the  only  beauty 
of  her  face  lay  in  her  eyes,  those  windows  of  sorrow, 
made  larger  by  the  cold  nights  passed  in  the  street  from 
horror  of  the  scenes  she  saw  in  her  childhood  ;  her 
father,  drunken,  with  the  brutal  wish  of  a  workman  to 
forget,  who,  after  imagining  that  his  tavern  was  a 
paradise,  would  become  infuriated  with  the  poverty  of 
his  home  and  beat  the  whole  family. 

*'  She  was  like  all  you  women  of  the  lower  orders, 
Sagrario.  Your  beauty  only  lasts  an  instant ;  in  fact,  it 
can  only  exist  in  the  first  flush  of  youth.  A  woman  of 
the  poor  cannot  be  beautiful  unless  she  gets  out  of  her 
class.  Daily  labour  makes  her  lose  all  her  freshness  and 
strength,  and  maternity  in  the  midst  of  poverty  absorbs 
even  the  marrow  in  her  bones.  When  her  daily  work 
is  ended  and  she  returns  home,  she  has  to  sweep  and 
wash,  and  shrivel  herself  to  a  mummy  before  the 
smoky  kitchen  stove.  I  loved  Lucy  for  that  reason, 
because  she  was  consumed  and  drained  by  sweating, 
because  she  was  the  girl  worker  in  all  her  melancholy 
decadence,  born  beautiful  and  made  hideous  by  social 
injustice." 

He  recalled  the  unbending  and  deadly  hatred  with 
which  that  little  woman  spoke  so  quietly  of  the 
supreme  vengeance  of  the  fallen,  of  the  revenge  for 
long  years  of  oppression.  She  showed  herself  more 
firmly  rooted  and  fiercer  in  her  illusions  than  Gabriel, 
and  he  would  praise  her  daring  as  a  propagandist,  her 
perilous  expeditions  into  the  great  towns,  running  the 
gauntlet  of  watchful  police,  carrying  on  her  arm  that 
old  bonnet-box  full  of  pamphlets  that  might  have  sent 
her  to  prison.  She  was  the  "miss"  animated  by 
evangelical  propaganda,  who  travels  over  the  globe 
distributing  Bibles  with  a  cold  smile,  fearless  alike  of 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  305 

the  mockery  of  civilisation,  or  the  brutality  of  savages  ; 
but  what  Lucy  distributed  were  incitements  to  revolu- 
tion ;  she  did  not  seek  out  the  happy  but  the  despairing, 
in  the  factories  and  infected  slums.  The  two  endured 
hunger,  finding  themselves  often  separated  by  persecu- 
tion and  prison,  but  they  met  again,  continuing  their 
romantic  career,  till  poverty  and  consumption  ended 
her  life. 

Gabriel  wept,  remembering  their  last  interview  in  an 
Italian  hospital,  clean  and  sweet,  but  with  the  frozen 
atmosphere  of  charity.  As  he  was  not  her  husband  he 
could  only  visit  her  twice  a  week.  He  presented 
himself  ragged  and  downcast,  seeing  her  in  an  arm-chair 
daily  paler  and  weaker,  her  skin  of  a  waxen  transparency 
and  her  eyes  immensely  enlarged.  He  knew  a  little  about 
everything,  and  he  could  not  conceal  from  himself  the 
gravity  of  her  illness.  She  waited  quietly  for  death. 
*'  Bring  me  some  roses,"  she  said,  smiling  to  Gabriel, 
as  if  in  the  last  moment  of  her  life  she  wished  to 
acknowledge  the  natural  beauty  of  the  world  made 
hideous  and  darkened  by  man.  The  "  companion " 
lived  on  dry  bread,  refusing  the  help  of  his  comrades 
only  a  little  less  poor  than  himself,  sleeping  on  the 
ground,  in  order  to  take  her  on  his  next  visit  a  bunch 
of  flowers. 

"  She  died,  Sagrario,"  groaned  Luna,  "  and  I  know 
not  where  they  buried  her  ;  possibly  she  may  have  served 
for  a  lecture  at  the  school  of  anatomy  ;  she  fell  into  the 
common  grave  like  those  soldiers  whose  heroism  remains 
in  obscurity.  But  I  still  see  her  ;  she  has  followed  me 
in  all  my  misfortunes,  and  I  think  she  lives  again  in 
you." 

**  But  uncle,"  said  Sagrario,  gently,  touched  by  his 
recital,  "  I  cannot  do  what  she  did.  I  am  an  unhappy 
woman,  without  strength  or  will." 

C.  X 


306THE    SHADOW   OF   THE    CATHEDRAL 

**  Call  me  Gabriel,"  said  Luna,  vehemently.  "  You 
are  my  Lucy,  who  again  crosses  my  path  ;  I  knew  it 
from  the  first,  and  for  a  long  while  I  have  been  searching 
my  feelings,  analysing  my  will,  and  I  have  arrived  at 
one  certainty — that  I  love  you,  Sagrario." 

The  young  woman  made  a  gesture  of  surprise,  drawing 
further  from  him. 

*'  Do  not  draw  away,  do  not  fear  me.  I  am  a  feeble 
man,  you  are  a  weak  woman;  you  have  suffered  much, 
and  have  bid  good-bye  to  the  joys  of  the  earth,  but 
you  are  strong  through  misfortune  and  can  look  the 
truth  in  the  face.  We  are  both  wrecks  of  life,  and  the 
only  hope  left  us  is  to  wait  and  die  quietly  in  the  desert 
island  which  is  our  refuge.  We  are  undone,  rent  and 
swept  away  ;  Death  has  laid  his  hand  upon  us ;  we  are 
fallen  and  shapeless  rags  after  having  passed  through 
the  mills  of  an  absurd  society.  For  this  reason  I  love  you, 
because  you  are  my  equal  in  misfortune;  elective  affinity 
unites  us.  Poor  Lucy  was  the  work-girl  enfeebled  by 
sweating,  weakened  from  her  birth  by  poverty.  You 
were  the  girl  of  the  people  drawn  from  her  home  by  the 
attraction  of  the  well-being  of  the  privileged  ;  seduced, 
not  by  love,  but  by  the  caprices  of  the  happy  ;  the  girl 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  Minotaur  whose  remains 
were  afterwards  thrown  on  to  the  dung-hill.  I  love  you, 
Sagrario  ;  we  are  two  fugitives  from  society,  whose  paths 
must  join  ;  I  am  hated  as  dangerous,  you  are  despised 
as  an  outcast ;  misfortune  has  laid  hold  on  us.  Our 
bodies  are  weakened  and  we  bear  the  wounds  of  the 
conquered,  but  before  death  claims  us,  let  us  make 
our  lives  sweet  by  love.  Let  us  seek  for  roses  as  did 
poor  Lucy." 

He  pressed  the  young  woman's  hands,  who,  bewil- 
dered by  Gabriel's  words,  knew  not  what  to  say,  and 
wept    softly.     Upstairs,    in  the   upper    storey    of  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  307 

Claverias,  the  Chapel-master  played  his  harmonium. 
Gabriel  knew  the  music :  it  was  Beethoven's  last 
lament,  the  "  Must  it  be,"  that  the  great  genius  sang 
before  his  death  with  a  melancholy  that  made  one 
shiver. 

"  I  love  you,  Sagrario,"  continued  Gabriel,  "ever  since 
I  saw  you  return  to  this  house,  bravely  facing  the 
odious  curiosity  of  the  people  around.  I  have  spent 
weeks  and  months  by  the  side  of  your  machine,  seeing 
how  industriously  you  worked.  I  have  studied  you  and 
read  you.  You  are  a  sincere  and  simple  creature  ;  your 
mind  has  none  of  the  doublings  and  hidden  corners  of 
those  complicated  and  tortuous  souls  used  to  the  artifices 
of  civilisation.  I  guessed  day  by  day,  by  your  gentle 
glance  and  the  attention  with  which  you  listened  to 
me,  your  gratitude  for  the  little  I  was  able  to  do  for  you.  I 
remembered  the  dark  period  of  your  life,  your  slavery 
to  the  flesh  ;  and  finding  me  always  gentle  with  you, 
protecting  you  from  your  father's  anger,  your  gratitude 
has  grown  and  grown,  till  to-day  you  love  me,  Sagrario. 
You  yourself  have  not  realised  it,  you  know  not  how  to 
explain  it,  but  your  being  responds  to  mine  like  those 
chemical  substances  I  spoke  of.  That  single  and 
eternal  love  is  a  lying  invention  of  the  poets,  of  which 
facts  often  make  a  mockery.  One  can  love  several 
people  with  equal  warmth :  the  indispensable  thing  is 
the  affinity.  You  who  formerly  loved  a  man  to  mad- 
ness, what  do  you  feel  for  me  ?  Have  I  deceived 
myself?     You  really  love  me  ?  " 

Sagrario  continued  weeping,  with  her  head  bent,  as 
though  she  did  not  dare  to  look  at  Luna.  He  reas- 
sured her  gently  :  she  must  call  him  Gabriel,  speak 
to  him  as  "  thou."  Were  they  not  companions  in 
misfortune  ? 

"  I  am  ashamed,"  murmured  the  young  woman.  "  So 

X 


308THE   SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL 

much  happiness  disturbs  me.  Yes,  I  like  you.  No,  I 
love  you,  Gabriel.  I  would  never  have  confessed  it  ;  I 
would  have  died  sooner  than  reveal  my  secret.  What 
am  I  that  anyone  should  love  me  ?  For  many  days  I 
have  not  looked  in  the  glass,  for  I  should  weep  at  the 
remembrance  of  my  lost  youth.  And  then  my  story — 
my  terrible  story.  How  could  I  imagine  that  you — or, 
I  should  say,  that  thou,  wouldst  read  my  thoughts  so 
clearly  ?  See  how  I  tremble  ;  the  shock  has  not  yet 
ceased,  the  surprise  of  finding  my  secret  discovered.  A 
man  like  you  to  descend  to  me,  ugly  and  sick  for  ever. 
No,  do  not  speak  of  the  other  man  ;  I  forgot  him  long 
ago.  And  am  I  going  to  remember  him  now  that  you 
give  me  the  charity  of  your  love  ?  No,  Gabriel,  you 
are  the  greatest  and  best  of  men  ;  you  are  like  a  god 
to  me." 

They  remained  silent  a  long  while  with  their  hands 
clasped,  looking  into  the  darkness  of  the  murmuring 
garden.  From  above  still  sounded  the  lament  of  the 
genius  at  his  fading  life. 

Sagrario  leant  on  Gabriel  as  though  her  strength 
were  failing,  and  as  if  terrified  at  so  much  happiness, 
she  wished  to  take  refuge  in  his  arms. 

"Why  have  I  known  you  so  late  !  "  she  said  in  a  low 
voice.  "  I  should  have  wished  to  love  you  in  my  youth, 
to  be  beautiful  and  healthy  only  for  you,  to  have  the 
beauty  and  charm  of  a  great  lady  to  soften  the  rest  of 
your  life.  But  my  gratitude  can  offer  you  little,  nothing 
but  ill-health  ;  the  seeds  of  death  are  in  me,  and  slowly 
I  shall  fade  away.  Gabriel,  why  did  you  set  your 
heart  on  me  ?  " 

"  Because  you  are  an  invalid,  and  unfortunate  as  I 
am.  Our  misery  is  the  loving  affinity.  Besides,  I  have 
never  loved  like  most  men.  In  my  travels  I  have  seen 
the  most  beautiful  women   in  the  world  without  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  309 

slightest  glow  of  desire.  I  am  not  of  an  amorous 
temperament.  From  my  adventures  in  Paris  when  I 
was  young  I  always  returned  with  a  feeling  of  disgust. 
My  love  for  the  unfortunate  has  mastered  me  to  the 
point  of  blunting  my  feelings.  I  am  like  a  drunkard  or 
a  gambler,  who,  obsessed  by  their  passion,  feel  nothing 
before  a  woman.  A  studious  man,  buried  in  his  books, 
feels  very  little  the  calls  of  sex.  My  passion  is  pity  for 
the  disinherited,  and  hatred  of  injustice  and  inequality. 
It  has  so  entirely  absorbed  me,  enslaving  all  my  facul- 
ties, that  I  have  never  had  time  to  think  of  love.  The 
female  does  not  attract  me,  but  I  worship  a  woman 
when  I  see  her  sad  and  unfortunate.  Ugliness  makes 
more  impression  on  me  than  beauty,  because  it  speaks 
to  me  of  social  infamies,  it  shows  me  the  bitterness  of 
injustice,  it  is  the  only  wine  which  revives  my  strength. 
I  loved  Lucy  because  she  was  unfortunate  and  dying. 
I  love  you,  Sagrario,  because  in  your  early  youth  you 
were  a  wanderer  in  life,  one  whom  no  one  would  love. 
My  love  is  for  you,  to  brighten  what  remains  to  you  of 
life." 

Sagrario  leant  on  Gabriel's  breast. 

**  How  good  you  are  !  "  she  sighed  ;  "  what  a  beautiful 
soul!" 

"  Yours  is  the  same,  poor  Sagrario.  Your  life  has 
been  a  snare.  You  sold  yourself  through  hunger  and 
despair  as  do  thousands  of  others  ;  you  thought  to  find 
bread  in  the  false  pretences  of  love.  Everything  is  for 
the  privileged  of  this  world  :  the  arms  of  the  father,  the 
sex  of  the  daughter,  and  when  those  arms  are  weakened, 
or  the  youthful  body  loses  its  charms,  they  are  thrown 
on  one  side  and  replaced.  The  market  is  abundant ;  I  love 
you  for  your  misfortunes.  Had  I  seen  you  young  and 
beautiful  as  in  former  times,  I  should  not  have  felt 
the  slightest  attraction.     Beauty  is  a  bar  to  sentiment. 


310  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  Sagrario  of  former  times,  with  her  dreams  of  being 
a  great  lady  flattered  by  the  words  of  youthful  lovers, 
brightly  dressed  like  brilliant  birds,  would  never  have 
thought  of  a  vagabond  aged  by  misery,  ugly  and  sick. 
We  understand  each  other  because  we  are  unfortunate  ; 
misery  allows  us  to  see  into  each  other's  souls  ;  in  full 
happiness  we  should  never  have  met." 

"  It  is  true,"  she  murmured,  leaning  her  head  on 
Gabriel's  shoulder.  "  I  love  that  misery  which  has 
allowed  us  to  know  each  other." 

"  You  will  be  my  companion,"  continued  Luna,  in  a 
soft  tone.  "  We  will  pass  our  lives  together  till  death 
breaks  the  chain.  I  will  protect  you,  although  the  pro- 
tection of  a  sick  and  persecuted  man  is  not  worth 
much." 

He  passed  his  arm  round  the  woman,  raising  her 
head  with  his  other  hand,  fixing  his  eyes  on  those 
of  Sagrario,  which  were  shining  in  the  starlight  bright 
with  tears. 

"  We  shall  be  two  souls,  two  minds  who  cherish  one 
another  without  giving  rein  to  passion,  and  with  a 
purity  such  as  no  poets  have  imagined.  This  night  in 
which  we  have  mutually  confessed  one  to  another,  in 
which  our  souls  have  been  laid  open  to  one  another  is 
our  wedding  night ;  kiss  me,  companion  of  my  life  !" 

And  in  the  silence  of  the  cloister  they  kissed  each 
other  noiselessly,  slowly,  as  though  with  their  lips 
joined  they  were  weeping  over  the  misery  of  their  past, 
and  the  brevity  of  a  love  around  which  death  was 
circling.  Above,  the  lament  of  Beethoven  went  on 
unfolding  its  sad  modulations,  which  floated  through 
the  cloister  and  round  the  sleeping  Cathedral. 

Gabriel  stood  erect  sustaining  Sagrario,  who  seemed 
almost  fainting  from  the  strength  of  her  feelings ;  he 
looked  up  at  the  luminous  space  with  almost  priestly 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  311 

gravity,  and  said,  whispering  close  to  the  young  woman's 
ear  : 

"  Our  life  will  be  like  a  deserted  garden,  where  amid 
fallen  trunks  and  dead  branches  fresh  foliage  springs  up. 
Companion,  let  us  love  one  another.  Above  our  misery 
as  pariahs  let  spring  arise.  It  will  be  a  sad  spring, 
without  fruit,  but  it  will  have  flowers.  The  sun  shines 
for  those  who  are  in  the  open,  but  for  us,  dear  com- 
panion, it  is  very  far.  But  from  the  black  depths  of 
our  well  we  will  clasp  each  other,  raising  our  heads,  and 
though  his  heat  will  not  revive  us,  we  will  adore  him 
like  a  distant  star." 


CHAPTER  X 

In  the  beginning  of  July  Gabriel  began  his  nocturnal 
watch  in  the  Cathedral. 

At  nightfall  he  went  down  into  the  cloister,  and  at 
the  Puerta  del  Mollete,  joined  the  other  watchman,  a 
sickly-looking  man  who  coughed  as  badly  as  Luna,  and 
who  never  left  off  his  cloak  even  in  the  height  of 
summer. 

"Come  along,  we  are  going  to  lock  up! "said  the 
bell-ringer,  rattling  his  bunch  of  keys. 

After  the  two  men  had  entered  the  church,  he  locked 
the  doors  from  outside  and  walked  away. 

As  the  days  were  long,  there  still  remained  two  hours 
of  daylight  after  the  watchmen  entered  the  Cathedral. 

"  All  the  church  is  ours,  companion,"  said  the  other 
watchman. 

And  like  a  man  used  to  the  imposing  appearance  of 
the  deserted  church,  he  settled  himself  comfortably  in 
the  sacristy  as  in  his  own  house,  opening  his  supper 
basket  on  the  chests,  and  spreading  out  his  eatables 
between  candelabras  and  crucifixes. 

Gabriel  wandered  about  the  fane.  After  many  nights 
of  watching,  the  impression  produced  when  he  first  saw 
the  immense  church  deserted  and  locked  up  had  not 
yet  faded.  His  footsteps  resounded  on  the  pavement, 
his  strides  shortened  by  the  tombs  of  prelates  and  great 
men  of  former  days.  The  silence  of  the  church  was 
disturbed  by  the  strange  echoes  and  mysterious  rust- 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  313 

lings  ;  the  first  day  Gabriel  had  often  turned  his  head 
in  alarm,  thinking  he  heard  footsteps  following  him. 

Outside  the  church  the  sun  was  still  shining,  the 
coloured  wheel  of  the  rose  window  above  the  great 
doorway  glowed  like  a  luminous  flower-bed ;  below, 
among  the  pillars,  the  light  seemed  overcome  by  the 
darkness ;  the  bats  began  to  descend,  and  with  their 
wings  made  the  dust  fall  from  the  shafts  in  the  vaulting. 
They  fluttered  round  about  the  pillars,  circling  as  in  a 
forest  of  stone ;  in  their  blind  flight  they  often  struck 
the  cords  of  the  hanging  lamps,  or  shook  the  old  red 
hats  with  dusty  and  ragged  tassels  that  hung  high  above 
the  cardinals'  tombs. 

Gabriel  made  his  rounds  throughout  the  church. 
He  shook  the  iron  railings  in  front  of  the  altars  to 
make  sure  they  were  securely  locked,  pushed  the  doors 
of  the  Muzarabe  Chapel,  and  that  of  the  Kings,  threw 
a  glance  into  the  Chapter-house,  and  finally  stopped 
before  the  Virgin  del  Sagrario ;  through  the  grating  he 
could  see  the  lamps  burning,  and  above,  the  image 
covered  with  jewels.  After  this  examination  he  went 
in  search  of  his  comrade,  and  they  both  sat  down  in 
the  crossways,  either  on  the  steps  of  the  choir  or  of 
the  high  altar ;  from  there  you  could  take  in  the  whole 
of  the  church  at  one  glance. 

The  two  watchmen  began  by  carefully  putting  on 
their  caps. 

"  They  will  probably  have  ordered  you,"  said  Gabriel's 
companion,  "  to  respect  the  Church,  and  that  if  3'ou 
want  to  smoke  a  cigar  you  must  go  up  to  the  gallery 
of  the  Locum  ;  and  that  if  you  wish  to  sup  you  must 
go  into  the  sacristy.  They  said  the  same  to  me  when 
I  first  entered  into  the  service  of  the  Church.  But 
these  are  only  the  words  of  people  who  sleep  comfort- 
ably and  quietly  in  their  own  houses.    Here  the  principal 


314  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

thing  is  to  keep  good  watch,  and  beyond  that,  each 
one  may  do  as  seems  best  to  him  to  pass  the  night. 
God  and  the  saints  sleep  during  these  hours ;  they 
really  must  want  some  rest  after  spending  the  whole 
day  listening  to  prayers  and  hymns,  receiving  incense, 
and  being  scorched  by  wax  tapers  close  to  their  faces. 
We  watch  their  sleep,  and,  the  devil !  we  are  surely 
not  wanting  in  respect  if  we  allow  ourselves  a  little 
liberty.  Come  along,  companion,  it  is  getting  dark  ;  let 
us  club  our  suppers." 

So  the  two  watchmen  supped  in  the  crossways, 
spreading  the  contents  of  their  baskets  on  the  marble 
steps. 

Gabriel's  comrade  carried  at  his  belt,  as  his  only  arm, 
an  ancient  pistol,  a  present  to  the  Obreria  which  had 
never  been  fired ;  to  Luna,  Silver  Stick  pointed  out  a 
carbine,  a  legacy  to  the  sacristy  from  the  ex-civil  guard, 
in  memory  of  his  years  of  service.  Gabriel  made  a 
gesture  of  repulsion.  It  was  all  right  standing  there, 
he  would  get  it  if  it  were  wanted ;  so  he  left  it  in  the 
corner  with  some  packets  of  cartridges,  mouldy  from 
the  damp  and  covered  with  cobwebs. 

As  the  night  fell  the  colours  from  the  windows  above 
became  obscured,  and  in  the  darkness  of  the  naves  all 
the  lights  from  the  various  lamps  began  to  shine  like 
wavering  stars ;  all  the  outlines  of  the  church  were  lost, 
and  Gabriel  fancied  himself  once  more  sleeping  at  night 
on  the  open  ground.  It  was  only  when  he  went  the 
rounds  with  his  lantern  in  his  hand  that  the  outlines 
of  the  Cathedral  rose  out  of  the  shadow  ever  vaster  and 
more  mysterious.  The  pillars  seemed  to  start  out  to 
meet  him,  rising  suddenly  up  to  the  roof  with  the 
flashes  of  light  from  the  lantern,  the  squares  in  the 
tiled  floor  seemed  to  dance  with  every  swing  of  the  light, 
and  every  now  and  then  Gabriel  could  feel  on  his  head 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  315 

the  flutter  of  passing  wings.  To  the  screams  of  the 
bats  were  added  the  hooting  of  other  frightened  birds, 
who  in  their  flight  knocked  against  the  pilasters  ;  they 
were  the  owls  who  came  down  attracted  by  the  oil  in 
the  lamps,  and  who  nearly  extinguished  them  with  the 
sweep  of  their  wings. 

Every  half-hour  the  silence  was  disturbed  by  the 
sound  of  rusty  wheels  and  springs,  and  then  a  bell  with 
a  silvery  tone  struck  ;  these  were  the  gilded  giants  of 
the  Puerta  del  Reloj,  marking  the  passing  of  time  with 
their  hammers. 

Gabriel's  companion  complained  greatly  of  the 
innovations  introduced  by  the  cardinal  for  the  annoy- 
ance of  poor  folks.  In  former  times  he  and  his  old 
comrade,  once  they  were  locked  up,  could  sleep  as  they 
pleased  without  fear  of  being  reproved  by  the  Chapter. 
But  His  Eminence,  who  was  always  endeavouring  to 
find  some  means  of  annoying  his  neighbour,  had  placed 
in  different  parts  of  the  Cathedral  certain  little  clocks 
brought  from  abroad,  and  now  they  had  to  go  every 
half-hour,  open  them  and  record  their  visit.  The 
following  day  they  were  examined  by  Silver  Stick,  and 
if  any  carelessness  was  discovered  he  imposed  a  fine. 

"  An  invention  of  the  demon  not  to  allow  us  to  sleep, 
comrade.  But  all  the  same  we  might  manage  a  nap 
if  we  help  one  another.  While  one  sleeps  a  bit  the 
other  must  undertake  to  check  these  cursed  machines. 
No  carelessness,  eh,  fresh  man  ?  The  pay  is  short  and 
hunger  great,  and  we  cannot  afford  fines." 

Gabriel,  always  good-natured,  was  the  one  who  made 
most  rounds,  looking  scrupulously  after  the  markers, 
while  his  companion,  the  Seiior  Fidel,  rested  quietly, 
praising  his  generosity.  They  had  given  him  a  good 
companion  ;  he  liked  him  much  better  than  the  old 
one,  with  his  imperious  manners  of  an  old  guard,  always 


3I6THE   SHADOW   OF   THE  CATHEDRAL 

squabbling  as  to  whose  turn  it  was  to  get  up  and  make 
the  round. 

The  poor  man  coughed  as  much  as  Gabriel  ;  his 
catarrhs  disturbed  the  silence,  echoing  through  the 
naves  till  it  seemed  like  several  monstrous  dogs 
barking. 

**  I  do  not  know  how  many  years  I  have  had  this 
hoarseness,"  said  the  old  man  ;  "  it  is  a  present  from  the 
Cathedral.  The  doctors  say  I  ought  to  give  up  this 
employment ;  but  what  I  say  is — who  is  to  support 
me  ?  You,  companion,  have  begun  at  the  best  time. 
There  is  a  coolness  here  that  all  those  would  envy  who 
are  generally  perspiring  about  this  time  in  the  cafes  of 
the  Zocodover.  We  are  still  in  summer,  but  you  can 
imagine  the  damp  which  penetrates  everything ;  and 
you  should  see  what  it  is  in  winter !  we  must  really 
dress  up  as  maskers,  covered  with  caps,  shawls  and 
cloaks.  They  have  the  charity  to  leave  us  a  little  fire  in 
the  sacristy,  but  many  mornings  they  find  us  almost 
frozen.  Those  of  the  Chapter  call  the  choir  '  kill 
canon,'  and  if  those  gentlemen  complain  of  one  hour's 
stay  in  this  ice-house,  having  eaten  well  and  drunk 
better,  you  may  just  fancy  what  it  is  for  us.  You  have 
had  the  good  luck  to  begin  in  summer,  but  when  the 
winter  comes  on  you  will  just  have  a  good  time 
of  it ! " 

But  even  though  it  was  the  best  part  of  the  year, 
Gabriel  coughed  much,  his  illness  increasing  from  the 
dampness  of  the  Cathedral. 

On  moonlight  nights  the  church  was  strangely  trans- 
figured, and  Gabriel  remembered  sundry  operatic  effects 
he  had  seen  during  his  travels.  The  white  tracery  of 
the  windows  stood  out  against  the  blackness  with  milky 
whiteness,  splashes  of  light  glided  down  the  pilasters, 
some  even  from  the  vaulting.     These  mocking  spectres 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  317 

moved  slowly  along  the  pavement,  mounting  the  oppo- 
site pillars  and  losing  themselves  in  the  darkness;  those 
rays  of  cold  and  diffused  light  made  the  shadows  seem 
even  darker  as  they  brought  out  of  the  darkness  here  a 
chapel,  beyond,  a  sepulchral  stone  or  the  outline  of  some 
pilaster ;  and  the  great  Christ,  who  crowned  the  railings 
of  the  high  altar,  glowed  against  its  background  of 
shadow  with  the  brilliancy  of  its  old  gilding,  like  some 
miraculous  apparition  floating  in  space  in  a  halo  of 
light. 

When  the  cough  would  not  allow  the  old  watchman 
to  sleep,  he  told  Gabriel  of  the  many  years  he  had 
carried  on  this  nocturnal  life  in  the  Primacy.  The 
office  had  some  resemblance  to  that  of  a  sexton,  for  he 
spent  most  of  it  among  the  dead  in  the  silence  of  deser- 
tion, never  seeing  anyone  till  his  watch  was  finished. 
He  had  ended  by  becoming  used  to  it,  and  it  had  cured 
him  of  many  fears  he  had  in  his  youth.  Before,  he  had 
believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  in  souls,  and  the 
apparitions  of  saints.  But  now  he  laughed  at  all  that. 
Whole  years  he  had  carried  on  this  night  work  in  the 
Cathedral,  and  if  he  heard  anything  it  was  only  the 
scampering  of  rats,  who  respected  neither  saints  nor 
altars,  for  after  all  they  were  only  wood  ! 

He  only  feared  men  of  flesh  and  blood,  those  robbers 
who  in  former  times  had  more  than  once  entered  the 
Cathedral,  obliging  the  Chapter  to  establish  this  night 
vigilance. 

He  entertained  Gabriel  with  the  account  of  all  the 
attempts  at  robbery  which  had  happened  during  the 
century.  In  the  Cathedral  was  enough  wealth  to  tempt 
a  saint,  Madrid  was  near,  and  he  much  feared  the 
"swell  "  thieves.  But  thieves  would  have  to  be  clever 
and  fortunate  to  get  the  better  of  them.  Silver  Stick, 
the  bell-ringer,  and  the  sacristan  made  their  nightly 


3i8  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

inspection  before  locking  up,  Mariano  then  taking  the 
keys  away  with  him  to  the  belfry.  No  one  could  think 
of  breaking  the  locks  and  bolts,  for  they  were  of  antique 
and  extremely  strong  work  ;  besides,  they  two  were  there 
inside  to  give  the  alarm  on  hearing  the  slightest  noise. 
Formerly,  by  the  help  of  the  dog,  the  watching  had  been 
more  complete,  for  the  animal  was  so  alert  that  no 
passer-by  could  approach  the  doors  for  an  instant  with- 
out his  barking.  After  its  death  the  Senor  Obrero  spoke 
month  after  month  of  getting  another,  but  he  had  never 
fulfilled  his  promise.  But  all  the  same,  without  the  dog, 
they  two  were  there  and  that  meant  something,  eh  ! 
He  with  his  old  pistol  which  had  never  been  fired,  and 
Gabriel  with  his  carbine,  which  was  still  standing  in  the 
corner  where  his  predecessor  had  left  it.  He  plumed 
himself  upon  the  fear  he  and  his  companion  would 
excite,  but,  called  back  to  reality  by  Luna's  smile,  he 
added : 

"  At  any  rate,  in  case  of  emergency  we  can  reckon  on 
the  bell  that  summons  the  canons  ;  the  rope  hangs  down 
in  the  choir,  and  we  have  only  to  ring  it.  And  just 
imagine  what  would  happen  if  it  rang  in  the  silence  of 
the  night !  All  Toledo  would  be  on  foot,  knowing  that 
something  serious  was  taking  place  in  the  Cathedral. 
With  this  and  those  cursed  markers  that  will  not  let 
one  sleep,  one  might  say  that  even  the  king  was  not  so 
well  guarded  at  night  as  this  church." 

In  the  morning  when  the  watch  was  ended,  Gabriel 
would  return  to  his  house,  perished  with  cold,  longing 
to  stretch  himself  in  bed.  He  would  find  Sagrario  in 
the  kitchen,  warming  the  milk  he  was  to  drink  before 
turning  in.  His  gentle  companion  still  called  him 
"  uncle  "  in  the  presence  of  the  household,  and  only 
used  the  loving  "  thou  "  when  they  were  alone.  When 
he  was   in    bed  she  would  bring  the    steaming  milk, 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  319 

making  him  drink  it  with  maternal  caresses,  smoothing 
the  pillows  ;  after  which  she  would  carefully  close  the 
windows  and  doors  so  that  no  ray  of  light  should  disturb 
him. 

"  Those  nights  in  the  Cathedral !  "  said  she  complain- 
ingly.  "  You  are  killing  yourself,  Gabriel.  It  is  not  fit  for 
you.  My  father  says  the  same.  As  it  is  certain  there 
is  nothing  beyond  death,  and  that  we  shall  not  see  one 
another,  do  try  and  prolong  your  life  by  being  careful. 
Now  that  we  know  each  other,  and  are  so  happy,  it 
would  be  so  sad  to  lose  you  !  " 

Gabriel  reassured  her.  This  would  not  go  on  beyond 
the  summer ;  after  that  they  would  give  him  something 
better.  She  must  not  be  so  sad ;  such  a  little  thing  did 
not  kill  one.  He  would  cough  just  as  much  living  in 
the  Claverias  as  passing  the  night  in  the  Cathedral. 

After  dinner  he  would  go  into  the  cloister,  completely 
rested  by  his  morning's  sleep.  It  was  the  only  time  of 
the  day  in  which  he  could  see  his  friends  ;  they  either 
came  to  find  him,  or  he  went  in  search  of  them,  going 
to  the  shoemaker's  house  or  up  into  the  tower. 

They  greeted  him  respectfully,  listening  to  his  words 
with  the  same  attention  as  before  ;  but  he  noted  in  them 
a  certain  air  of  proud  independence,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  pity,  as  if,  although  grateful  to  him  for  having 
transmitted  his  ideas  to  them,  they  pitied  him  for  his 
gentle  character,  so  inimical  to  all  violence. 

"Those  birds,"  said  Gabriel  to  his  brother,  "are 
flying  on  their  own  account.  They  do  not  want  me, 
and  wish  to  be  alone." 

Wooden  Staff  shook  his  head  sadly. 

"  God  grant,  Gabriel,  that  some  day  you  may  not 
repent  of  having  spoken  to  them  of  things  they  cannot 
understand  !  They  have  greatly  changed,  and  no  one 
can  endure  our  nephew,  the  Perrero.     He  says  that  if 


320  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

he  is  not  allowed  to  kill  bulls  in  order  to  get  rich,  he 
will  kill  men  to  get  out  of  his  poverty  ;  that  he  has  as 
much  right  to  enjoyment  as  any  gentleman,  and  that  all 
the  rich  are  robbers.  Really,  brother,  by  the  Holy 
Virgin  !  have  you  taught  them  such  horrible  things  ?  " 

*'  Let  them  alone,"  said  Gabriel,  laughing ;  "  they 
have  not  j'et  digested  their  new  ideas,  and  are  vomiting 
follies.     All  this  will  pass,  for  they  are  good  souls." 

The  only  thing  that  vexed  him  was  that  Mariano 
withdrew  from  him.  He  fled  his  company  as  if  he  were 
afraid.  He  seemed  to  fear  that  Gabriel  would  read  his 
thoughts,  with  that  irresistible  power  that  from  boyhood 
he  had  held  over  him. 

*'  Mariano,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  "  said  he, 
seeing  him  pass  through  the  cloisters. 

"  Much  that  is  out  of  gear,"  answered  his  surly 
friend. 

"  I  know  it,  man — I  know  it  ;  but  you  seem  to  avoid 
me.     Why  is  this  ?  " 

"  Avoid  you — I  ? —  never.  You  know  I  always  love 
you.  When  you  come  to  my  house  you  see  how  we  all 
welcome  you.  We  owe  you  a  great  deal ;  you  have 
opened  our  eyes  and  we  are  no  longer  brute  beasts.  But 
I  am  tired  of  knowing  so  much  and  being  so  poor,  and 
my  companions  are  thinking  the  same.  We  do  not 
care  to  have  our  heads  full  and  our  bellies  empty." 

"  Well,  then,  what  remedy  have  we  ?  We  have  all 
been  born  too  soon.  Others  will  come  after  us,  finding 
things  better  arranged.  What  can  you  do  to  right  the 
present,  when  there  are  millions  of  workers  in  the 
world  more  wretched  than  yourselves,  who  have  not 
succeeded  in  finding  a  better  way  out  even  at  the  cost 
of  their  blood,  fighting  against  authority  ?  " 

*'  What  shall  we  do  ? "  grumbled  his  companion. 
**  That  is  what  we  shall  see,  and  you  will  see  also.     We 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  321 

are  not  such  fools  as  you  think.  You  are  very  clever, 
Gabriel,  and  we  respect  you  as  our  master,  for  every- 
thing you  say  is  true.  But  it  seems  to  us  that  when 
you  have  to  do  with  things — practical  things :  you 
understand  me  ?  when  one  must  call  bread,  bread,  and 
wine,  wine  :  am  I  explaining  myself  ? — you  are,  begging 
your  pardon,  rather  soft,  like  all  those  who  live  much  in 
books.     We  are  ignorant,  but  we  see  more  clearly." 

He  walked  away  from  Gabriel,  who  was  quite  unable 
to  understand  the  true  bearing  of  this  aberration  among 
his  disciples.  Several  times  when  he  went  up  to  the 
tower  to  spend  a  few  moments  with  his  friends,  they 
would  suddenly  cease  their  conversation,  looking 
anxiously  at  him  as  though  they  feared  he  might  have 
overheard  their  words. 

It  was  several  days  since  Don  Martin  had  been  in  the 
cloister.  Gabriel  knew  through  Silver  Stick  that  the 
chaplain's  mother  had  died,  and  a  week  afterwards  he  saw 
him  one  evening  in  the  Claverias.  His  eyes  were  blood- 
shot, his  cheeks  thin,  and  his  skin  drawn  as  though  he 
had  wept  much. 

"  I  come  to  take  farewell,  Gabriel.  I  have  spent  a 
month  of  sorrow  and  sleeplessness  nursing  my  mother. 
The  poor  thing  is  dead ;  she  was  far  from  young,  and  I 
expected  this  ending,  but  however  strong  and  resigned 
one  may  be,  these  blows  must  be  felt.  Now  the  poor 
old  woman  is  gone  I  am  free  ;  she  was  the  only  tie  that 
bound  me  to  this  Church,  in  which  I  no  longer  believe. 
Its  dogma  is  absurd  and  puerile,  its  history  a  tissue  of 
crimes  and  violence.  Why  should  I  lie  like  others, 
feigning  a  faith  I  do  not  feel  ?  To-day  I  have  been  to 
the  palace  to  tell  them  they  may  dispose  of  my  seven 
duros  monthly  and  my  chaplaincy  of  nuns.  I  am  going 
away.  I  wish  not  only  to  fly  the  Church,  I  wish  to  get  out 
of  her  atmosphere  ;  and  a  renegade  priest  could  not  live 

c.  Y 


322  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

in  Toledo.  You  see  this  masquerade  ?  I  wear  it  to-day  for 
the  last  time  ;  to-morrow  I  shall  taste  the  first  joy  of  my 
life,  tearing  this  shroud  into  shreds,  such  small  shreds 
that  no  one  will  be  able  to  use  them.  I  shall  be  a  man. 
I  will  go  far  away,  as  far  as  I  can.  I  wish  to  know  what 
the  world  is  like  as  I  have  to  live  in  it.  I  know  no  one,  I 
shall  have  no  assistance.  You  are  the  most  extraordinary 
man  I  have  ever  known,  and  here  you  are  hidden  in  this 
dungeon  by  your  own  free  will,  concealed  in  a  Church 
which  to  your  views  must  be  empty.  I  am  not  afraid 
of  poverty.  When  one  has  been  God's  representative 
on  six  reals  a  day  one  can  look  hunger  in  the  face.  I 
will  be  a  workman  ;  I  will  dig  the  earth,  if  necessary.  I 
will  get  employment  on  something — but  I  shall  be  a 
free  man." 

As  the  two  friends  walked  up  and  down  the  cloister 
Gabriel  counselled  Don  Martin  in  determining  the  place 
to  which  he  should  direct  his  steps,  as  his  thoughts 
wavered  between  Paris  and  the  American  republics, 
where  emigration  was  most  needed. 

As  the  evening  fell,  Gabriel  took  leave  of  his  disciple  ; 
his  fellow- watchman  was  waiting  for  him  in  the  cloister, 
ready  for  locking-up  time. 

"  Probably  we  shall  never  meet  again,"  said  the 
chaplain  sadly.  "  You  will  end  your  days  here,  in  the 
house  of  a  God  in  whom  you  do  not  believe." 

"Yes,  I  shall  die  here,"  said  Gabriel,  smiling.  "  He 
and  I  hate  one  another,  but  all  the  same  it  seems  as  if 
He  could  not  do  without  me.  If  He  goes  out  into  the 
streets  it  is  I  who  guide  His  steps,  and  again  at  night,  it 
is  I  who  guard  His  w'ealth.  Good-bye,  and  good-luck, 
Martin.  Be  a  man  without  weakness.  Truth  is  well 
worth  poverty." 

The  disappearance  of  the  chaplain  of  nuns  was 
effected  without  scandal.      Don  Antolin  and  the  other 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  323 

priests  thought  the  young  man  had  moved  to  Madrid 
through  ambition,  to  help  swell  the  number  of  place- 
hunting  clerics.  Gabriel  was  the  only  one  who  knew 
Don  Martin's  real  intentions.  Besides,  an  astonishing 
piece  of  news,  that  fell  on  the  Cathedral  like  a  thunder- 
bolt, soon  caused  the  young  priest  to  be  forgotten, 
throwing  all  the  gentlemen  of  the  choir,  all  the  smaller 
folk  in  the  sacristies,  and  the  whole  population  of  the 
upper  cloister  into  the  greatest  commotion. 

The  quarrels  between  the  Archbishop  and  his  Chapter 
had  ended,  everything  that  had  been  done  by  the 
cardinal  was  approved  of  in  Rome,  and  His  Eminence 
fairly  roared  with  joy  in  his  palace,  with  the  fiery 
impetuosity  of  his  usual  feelings. 

As  the  canons  entered  the  choir  they  walked  with 
bent  heads,  looking  ashamed  and  frightened. 

"  Well,  have  you  heard?  "  they  said  to  one  another 
as  they  disrobed  in  the  sacristy. 

In  a  great  hurry,  with  flying  cloaks  they  all  left  the 
church,  every  man  his  own  way,  without  forming  groups 
or  circles,  each  one  anxious  to  free  himself  from  all 
responsibility,  and  to  appear  free  from  all  complicity 
with  the  prelate's  enemies. 

The  ,Tato  laughed  with  joy  seeing  the  sudden 
dispersion,  and  the  agitation  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
choir. 

"  Run  !  run  !  The  old  gossip  will  give  you  something 
to  think  about !  " 

The  same  preparations  were  made  every  year  in  the 
middle  of  August  for  the  festival  of  the  Virgin  del 
Sagrario.  In  the  Cathedral  they  spoke  of  this  year's 
festival  with  mystery  and  anxiety,  as  though  they  were 
expecting  great  events.  His  Eminence,  who  had  not 
been  into  the  church  for  many  months,  in  order  not  to 
meet  his  Chapter,  would  preside  in  the  choir  on  the 

Y  2 


324  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

feast  day.  He  wished  to  see  his  enemies  face  to  face, 
crushed  by  his  triumph,  and  to  enjoy  their  looks  of 
confused  submission.  And  accordingly,  as  the  festival 
drew  near  many  of  the  canons  trembled,  thinking  of 
the  harsh  and  proud  look  the  angry  prelate  would  fix 
on  them. 

Gabriel  paid  very  little  attention  to  these  anxieties 
of  the  clerical  world  ;  he  led  a  strange  life,  sleeping  the 
greater  part  of  the  day,  preparing  himself  for  the 
fatiguing  night  watch,  which  he  now  undertook  alone. 
The  Senor  Fidel  had  fallen  ill,  and  the  Obreria  to 
avoid  expense,  and  not  to  deprive  the  old  man  of  his 
wretched  pay,  had  not  engaged  a  new  companion  for 
him.  He  spent  the  nights  alone  in  the  Cathedral  as 
calmly  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  upper  cloister,  quite 
accustomed  to  the  grave-like  silence.  In  order  not  to 
sleep,  he  read  by  the  light  of  his  lantern  any  books  he 
could  get  in  the  Claverias,  uninteresting  treatises  on 
history  in  which  Providence  played  the  principal  rdle  : 
lives  of  the  saints,  amusing  from  their  simple  credulity, 
bordering  on  the  grotesque  ;  and  that  family  Quixote  of 
the  Lunas',  that  he  had  so  often  spelt  out  when  little, 
and  in  which  he  still  found  some  of  the  freshness  of  his 
childhood. 

The  Virgin's  feast  day  arrived  ;  the  festival  was  the 
same  as  in  other  years.  The  famous  image  had  been 
brought  out  of  its  chapel  and  occupied  on  its  foot-board 
a  place  on  the  high  altar.  They  brought  out  her 
mantle  kept  in  the  Treasury  and  all  her  jewels,  that 
scintillated  kissed  by  the  innumerable  lights,  glittering 
and  flashing  with  endless  brilliancy. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  festival,  the  inquisi- 
tive of  the  Cathedral,  pretending  absent-mindedness, 
strolled  between  the  choir  and  the  Puerta  del  Perdon. 
The   canons    in    their   red   robes   assembled    near  the 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  325 

staircase  lighted  by  the  famous  "  stone  of  light."  His 
Eminence  would  come  down  this  way,  and  the  canons 
grouped  themselves,  timidly  whispering,  asking  each 
other  what  was  going  to  happen. 

The  cross-bearer  appeared  on  the  first  step  of  the 
staircase,  holding  his  emblem  horizontally  with  both 
hands  so  that  it  should  pass  under  the  arch  of  the 
doorway.  After,  between  servitors,  and  followed  by  the 
mulberry-coloured  robe  of  the  auxiliary  bishop,  advanced 
the  cardinal,  dressed  in  his  purple,  which  quenched  the 
reddish-violet  of  the  canons. 

The  Chapter  were  drawn  up  in  two  rows  with  bowed 
heads,  offering  homage  to  their  prince.  What  a  glance 
was  Don  Sebastian's  !  The  canons,  bending,  thought 
they  felt  it  on  the  nape  of  their  necks  with  the  coldness 
of  steel.  He  held  his  enormous  body  erect  in  its  flowing 
purple  with  a  gallant  pride,  as  if  at  the  moment  he  felt 
himself  entirely  cured  of  the  malady  which  was  tearing 
his  entrails,  and  of  the  weak  heart  which  oppressed  his 
lungs.  His  fat  face  quivered  with  delight,  and  the  folds 
of  his  double  chin  spread  out  over  his  lace  rochet. 
His  cardinal's  biretta  seemed  to  swell  with  pride  on  his 
little,  white  and  shining  head.  Never  was  a  crown 
worn  with  such  pride  as  that  red  cap. 

He  stretched  out  his  hand,  gloved  in  purple,  on 
which  shone  the  episcopal  emerald  ring,  with  such  an 
imperious  gesture  that  one  after  another  of  the  canons 
found  themselves  forced  to  kiss  it.  It  was  the  sub- 
mission of  churchmen,  accustomed  from  their  seminary 
to  an  apparent  humility  which  covered  rancours  and 
hatreds  of  an  intensity  unknown  in  ordinary  life.  The 
Cardinal  guessed  their  disinclination,  and  gloated  over 
his  triumph. 

"  You  have  no  idea  what  our  hatreds  are,"  he  had 
often    said  to  his  friend,  the  gardener's  widow.  "  In 


326  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

ordinary  life  few  men  die  of  ill-humour ;  he  who  is 
annoyed  gives  vent  to  it,  and  recovers  his  equanimity. 
But  in  the  Church  you  may  count  by  the  hundred  men 
who  die  in  a  fit  of  rage,  because  they  are  unable  to 
revenge  themselves ;  because  discipline  closes  their 
mouths  and  bows  their  heads.  Having  no  families, 
and  no  anxieties  about  earning  their  bread,  most  of  us 
only  live  for  self-love  and  pride." 

The  Chapter  formed  their  procession  accompanied  by 
His  Eminence.  The  scarlet  Perrero  headed  the  march, 
then  came  the  black  vergers  and  Silver  Stick,  making 
the  tiles  of  the  pavement  ring  with  the  blows  of  their 
staffs.  Behind  came  the  archiepiscopal  cross  and  the 
canons  in  pairs,  and  finally  the  prelate  with  his  scarlet 
train  spread  out  at  full  length,  held  up  by  two  pages. 
Don  Sebastian  blessed  to  the  right  and  to  the  left, 
looking  with  his  penetrating  eyes  at  the  faithful  who 
bowed  their  heads. 

His  imperious  character  and  the  joy  of  his  triumph 
made  his  glance  flash.  What  a  splendid  victory  !  The 
Church  was  his  home,  and  he  returned  to  it  after  a  long 
absence  with  all  the  majesty  of  an  absolute  master, 
who  could  crush  the  evil-speaking  slaves  who  dared  to 
attack  him. 

The  greatness  of  the  Church  seemed  to  him  at  that 
moment  more  glorious  than  ever.  What  an  admirable 
institution  !  The  strong  man  who  arrived  at  the  top 
was  an  omnipotent  god  to  be  feared.  Nothing  of 
pernicious  and  revolutionary  equality.  Dogma  exalted 
the  humility  of  all  before  God  ;  but  when  you  came  to 
examples,  flocks  were  always  spoken  of,  and  shepherds 
to  direct  them.  He  was  that  shepherd  because  the 
Omnipotent  has  so  ordered  it.  W'oe  to  whoever 
attempted  to  dethrone  him ! 

In  the   choir   his   delighted    pride    tasted    an  even 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  327 

greater  satisfaction.  He  was  seated  on  the  throne  of 
the  archbishops  of  Toledo,  that  seat  which  had  been 
the  star  of  his  youth,  the  remembrance  of  which  had 
disturbed  him  in  his  Episcopacy,  when  the  mitre  had 
travelled  through  the  provinces,  waiting  for  the  hour  to 
rise  to  the  Primacy.  He  stood  erect  under  the  artistic 
canopy  of  the  Mount  Tabor,  at  the  top  of  four  steps, 
so  that  all  in  the  choir  could  see  him  and  recognise  that 
he  was  their  prince.  The  heads  of  the  dignitaries 
seated  at  his  side  were  thus  on  a  level  with  his  feet. 
He  could  trample  on  them  like  vipers  should  they 
dare  to  rise  again,  striking  at  his  most  intimate 
affections. 

Fired  by  the  appreciation  of  his  own  grandeur  and 
triumph,  he  was  the  first  to  rise,  or  to  sit  down  ;  as  is 
directed  in  the  rubric  of  the  services,  he  joined  his 
voice  to  those  in  the  choir,  astonishing  them  all  by  the 
harsh  energy  of  his  singing ;  the  Latin  words  rolled 
from  his  mouth  like  blows  upon  those  hated  people, 
and  his  eyes  passed  with  a  threatening  expression  over 
the  double  row  of  bent  heads. 

He  was  a  fortunate  man,  who  had  risen  from  place  to 
place,  but  he  never  felt  a  satisfaction  so  deep,  so  com- 
plete as  at  that  moment.  He  himself  was  startled  at 
his  own  delight,  at  that  orgy  of  pride  that  had  extin- 
guished his  chronic  ailments ;  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  he  were  spending  in  a  few  hours  the  stores  of 
enjoyment  of  his  whole  life. 

As  the  mass  was  ending,  the  singers  and  lower  people 
in  the  choir,  who  were  the  only  ones  who  dared  to 
look  at  him,  were  alarmed,  seeing  him  suddenly  grow 
pale,  rise  with  his  face  discomposed,  pressing  his  hands 
to  his  breast.  The  canons  noticing  it,  rushed  towards 
him,  forming  a  crowded  mass  of  red  vestments  in  front 
of  his  throne.     His  Eminence  was  suffocating,  fighting 


328  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

against  that  circle  of  hands  who  instinctively  clutched 
at  him. 

*'  Air!  "  he  moaned,  "  air  !  Get  out  from  before  me 
with  a  thousand  curses  !     Take  me  home  !  " 

Even  in  the  midst  of  his  agony,  he  recovered  his 
majestic  gesture  and  his  old  soldiering  oaths  to  drive 
away  his  enemies.  He  was  suffocating,  but  he  would 
not  allow  the  canons  to  see  it :  he  guessed  the  delight 
many  of  them  must  feel  beneath  their  compassionate 
manner.  Let  no  one  touch  him  !  He  could  manage  for 
himself  !  So  leaning  on  two  faithful  servants,  he  began 
his  march,  gasping,  towards  the  episcopal  staircase, 
followed  by  great  part  of  the  Chapter. 

The  religious  function  ended  hurriedly.  The  Virgin 
would  forgive  it,  she  should  have  a  better  solemnity 
next  year ;  and  all  the  authorities  and  invited  guests 
left  their  seats  to  run  in  search  of  news  to  the  archi- 
episcopal  palace. 

When  Gabriel  woke,  past  midday,  every  one  in  the 
upper  cloister  was  talking  of  His  Eminence's  health. 
His  brother  inquired  of  the  Aunt  Tomasa  who  had  just 
come  from  the  palace. 

"  He  is  dying,  my  sons,"  said  the  gardener's  widow; 
"  he  cannot  escape  from  it.  Dona  Visitacion  signalled 
it  to  me  from  afar,  weeping,  poor  thing  !  He  cannot 
be  put  to  bed,  for  his  chest  is  heaving  like  a  broken 
bellows.  The  doctors  say  he  will  not  last  till  night. 
What  a  misfortune !     And  on  a  day  like  this  !  " 

The  agony  of  the  ecclesiastical  prince  was  received  in 
funereal  silence.  The  women  of  the  Claverias  went 
backwards  and  forwards  with  news  from  the  palace  to 
the  upper  cloister ;  the  children  w^ere  shut  up  in  the 
houses,  frightened  by  their  mothers'  threats  if  they 
attempted  to  play  in  the  galleries. 

The  Chapel-master,  who  was  generally  indifferent  to 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  329 

events  in  the  Cathedral,  went  nevertheless  to  inquire  of 
His  Eminence's  condition.  He  had  a  plan  which  he 
quickly  explained  to  the  family  during  dinner.  The 
funeral  of  a  cardinal  deserved  the  execution  of  a  cele- 
brated mass,  with  a  full  orchestra  recruited  in  Madrid. 
He  had  already  cast  his  eyes  on  the  famous  Requiem  of 
Mozart ;  that  was  the  only  reason  for  which  he  was 
interested  in  the  prelate's  fate. 

Gabriel,  looking  at  his  companion,  felt  the  gentle 
selfishness  that  a  living  man  feels  when  a  great  man 
dies. 

"  So  the  great  fall,  Sagrario,  and  we,  the  sickly  and 
wretched,  have  still  some  life  before  us." 

At  the  hour  of  locking  up  the  church  he  went  down 
to  begin  his  watch.  The  bell-ringer  was  waiting  for 
him  with  the  keys. 

"  How  about  the  Cardinal  ?  "  inquired  Gabriel. 

"  He  will  certainly  die  to-day,  if  he  is  not  already 
dead." 

And  afterwards  he  added : 

"  You  will  have  a  great  illumination  to-night, 
Gabriel.  The  Virgin  is  on  the  high  altar  till  to- 
morrow morning,  surrounded  by  wax  tapers." 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment,  as  if  undecided  about 
something. 

"  Possibly,"  he  added,  *'  I  may  come  down  and 
keep  you  company  a  little.  You  must  be  dull  alone  ; 
expect  me." 

When  Gabriel  was  locked  into  the  church,  he  caught 
sight  of  the  high  altar,  resplendent  with  lights.  He 
made  his  usual  trial  of  doors  and  railings  ;  visited  the 
Locum  and  the  large  lavatories,  where  once  some 
thieves  had  concealed  themselves,  and  after  he  was 
quite  certain  that  there  was  no  human  being  in  the 
church    except    himself,    he    seated    himself     in    the 


330  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

crossways  with  his  cloak  round  him,  and  his  basket 
of  supper. 

He  sat  there  a  long  while,  looking  through  the  railings 
at  the  Virgin  del  Sagrario.  Born  in  the  Cathedral  and 
brought  up  as  a  child  by  his  mother,  who  knelt  with  him 
before  the  image,  he  had  always  admired  it  as  the  most 
perfect  type  of  beauty.  Now  he  criticised  it  coldly  with 
his  artistic  eye.  She  was  ugly  and  grotesque  like  all  the 
very  rich  images;  sumptuous  and  wealthy  piety  had 
decked  her  out  with  their  treasures.  There  was  nothing 
about  her  of  the  idealism  of  the  Virgin  painted  by 
Christian  artists  ;  she  was  much  more  like  an  Indian  idol 
covered  with  jewels.  The  embroidered  dress  and  mantle 
stood  out  with  the  stiffness  of  stone  folds,  and  over  the 
head-dress  sparkled  a  crown  as  large  as  a  helmet, 
diminishing  the  face.  Gold,  pearls  and  diamonds  shone 
on  every  part  of  her  vestments,  and  she  wore  pendants 
and  bracelets  of  immense  value. 

Gabriel  smiled  at  the  religious  simplicity  which  dressed 
heavenly  heroes  according  to  the  fashions  of  the  earth. 

The  faint  twilight  glimmering  through  the  windows 
and  the  wavering  flame  of  the  tapers  animated  the  face 
of  the  image  as  if  she  were  speaking. 

*'  Even  as  1  am  !  "  said  Gabriel  to  himself.  "  If  a  holy 
person  were  in  my  place  he  would  think  the  Virgin  was 
laughing  one  moment  and  crying  the  next ;  with  a  little 
imagination  and  faith,  behold  here  is  a  miracle !  These 
flickerings  of  light  have  been  an  inexhaustible  mine  for 
the  priests,  even  the  Venus'  of  former  times  changed  the 
expression  of  their  faces  at  the  pleasure  of  the  faithful, 
just  like  a  Christian  image." 

He  thought  a  long  time  about  miracles,  the  invention 
of  all  religions,  and  as  old  as  human  ignorance  and 
credulity. 

It  was  now  quite  dark.    After  supping  frugally,  Gabriel 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  331 

opened  a  book  that  he  carried  in  his  basket  and  began 
to  read  by  the  light  of  his  lantern.  Now  and  then  he 
raised  his  head,  disturbed  by  the  fluttering  and  screams 
of  the  night  birds,  attracted  by  the  extraordinary 
brilliancy  of  the  countless  wax  tapers.  The  time  passed 
slowly  in  the  darkness  ;  the  silvery  sound  of  the  warriors' 
hammers  re-echoed  through  the  vaulting.  Luna  got  up 
and  visited  the  markers  to  record  his  visit. 

Ten  o'clock  had  struck  when  Gabriel  heard  the  wicket 
of  the  Puerta  de  Santa  Catalina  open  quickly  but  without 
violence,  as  though  a  key  had  been  used.  Luna  remem- 
bered the  bell-ringer's  offer,  but  soon  he  heard  the  sound 
of  many  steps  magnified  by  the  echo  as  if  a  whole  host 
were  advancing. 

"  Who  goes  there  ?  "  shouted  Gabriel,  rather  alarmed. 

"  It  is  us,  man,"  answered  from  the  darkness  the  husky 
voice  of  Mariano.  "  Did  I  not  tell  you  we  should  come 
down?  " 

As  they  came  into  the  crossways,  the  light  from  the 
high  altar  fell  full  upon  them,  and  Gabriel  saw  the 
Tato  and  the  shoemaker  with  the  bell-ringer.  They 
wished  to  keep  Luna  company  part  of  the  night,  so  that 
his  watch  should  not  be  so  wearisome,  and  they  produced 
a  bottle  of  brandy,  of  which  they  offered  him  some. 

"You  know  I  do  not  drink,"  said  Gabriel.  "I  have 
never  cared  for  alcohol ;  wine  sometimes,  and  very  little 
of  that.  But  where  are  you  all  going  to,  dressed  out 
as  for  a  feast  day  ?  " 

The  Tato  answered  hurriedly.  Silver  Stick  locked  up 
the  Claverias  at  nine,  and  they  wished  to  spend  the 
night  out  of  bounds.  They  had  been  some  time  at  a 
cafe  in  the  Zocodover,  feasting  like  lords.  They  had 
had  all  sorts  of  adventures,  that  was  a  night  quite  out 
of  the  ordinary  way,  more  especially  as  all  the  town 
was  in  commotion  about  the  Archbishop. 


332  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

"  How  is  he  going  on  ?  "  inquired  Gabriei. 

"  I  believe  he  died  half-an-hour  ago,"  said  the  bell- 
ringer.  "  When  I  went  up  to  my  house  for  the  keys, 
a  doctor  was  coming  out  of  the  palace  and  he  told  one 
of  the  canons.     But  let  us  sit  down." 

They  all  sat  down,  in  their  embroidered  caps,  on  the 
steps  of  the  high  altar  railing.  Mariano  put  his  bunch 
of  keys  on  the  ground,  a  mass  of  iron  as  big  as  a  club. 
There  were  keys  of  every  age,  some  of  iron,  very  large, 
rough  and  rusty,  showing  the  old  hammer  marks  and 
with  coats  of  arms  near  the  bows ;  others,  more  modern, 
were  clean  and  bright  as  silver,  but  they  were  all  very- 
large  and  heavy,  with  powerful  indented  teeth,  propor- 
tionate to  the  size  of  the  edifice. 

The  three  friends  seemed  extraordinarily  happy,  with 
a  nervous  gaiety  which  made  them  catch  hold  of  each 
other  and  laugh.  They  cast  sidelong  looks  at  the 
Virgin  and  then  looked  at  each  other,  with  a  mysterious 
gesture  that  Gabriel  was  quite  unable  to  understand. 

"  You  have  all  drunk  a  good  deal,  is  it  not  so  ?  "  said 
Luna.  "  You  do  wrong,  for  you  know  that  drink  is  the 
degradation  of  the  poor." 

"  A  day  is  a  day,  uncle,"  said  the  Perrero  ;  "it  delights 
us  that  the  great  ones  are  dying.  You  see,  I  esteem 
His  Eminence  highly,  but  let  him  go  to  the  devil  !  The 
only  satisfaction  a  poor  man  has  is  to  see  that  the  end 
comes  also  to  the  rich." 

**  Drink,  "  said  the  bell-ringer,  offering  him  the  bottle. 
'*  It  is  a  pleasure  to  find  ourselves  here,  well  and  happy, 
while  to-morrow  His  Eminence  will  find  himself  between 
four  boards  ;  we  shall  have  to  ring  the  little  bell  all 
day !  " 

The  Tato  drank,  passing  the  bottle  to  the  shoemaker, 
who  held  it  a  long  time  glued  to  his  gullet.  Of  the  three  he 
seemed  the  most  tipsy ;  his  eyes  were  bloodshot,  he  stared 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  333 

stonily  on  every  side  and  remained  silent,  he  only  gave 
a  forced  laugh  when  anyone  spoke  to  him,  as  if  his 
thoughts  were  very,  ver}'  far  off. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  bell-ringer  was  far  more 
loquacious  than  usual.  He  spoke  of  the  cardinal's 
fortune,  at  the  wealth  that  would  fall  to  Dona  Visitacion, 
of  the  joy  many  of  the  Chapter  must  feel  that  night. 
He  interrupted  himself  to  take  a  pull  at  the  brandy 
bottle,  passing  it  afterwards  to  his  companions.  The 
smell  of  the  alcohol  spread  through  that  atmosphere 
impregnated  with  incense  and  the  smoke  of  wax  tapers. 

More  than  an  hour  passed  in  this  way.  Mariano  had 
stopped  the  conversation  several  times  as  if  he  had 
something  serious  to  say  and  was  vacillating,  wanting 
courage. 

"  Gabriel,  time  is  passing  and  we  have  much  to  do 
and  to  talk  about.  It  is  a  little  past  eleven,  but  we  have 
still  several  hours  to  do  the  thing  well." 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  say  ?  "  asked  Luna,  surprised. 

"  Few  words — in  a  nut-shell.  It  concerns  your  be- 
coming rich  and  us  also ;  we  intend  to  get  out  of  this 
poverty.  You  have  noticed  for  some  time  that  we  have 
avoided  you,  that  we  preferred  talking  among  ourselves 
to  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  you.  We  all  know  that 
you  are  very  learned,  but  as  far  as  things  of  this 
life  go  you  are  not  worth  a  farthing.  We  have  learnt 
a  great  deal  from  you,  but  that  does  not  get  us  out  of 
our  poverty.  We  have  spent  months  thinking  how  to 
make  a  lucky  stroke.  These  revolutions  of  which  you 
speak  seem  to  us  very  far  off;  our  grandchildren  may 
see  them,  but  we  never  shall.  It  is  all  right  for  clever 
people  to  look  to  the  future,  but  ignorant  people  like  us 
look  to  the  present.  We  have  employed  our  time  dis- 
cussing all  sorts  of  schemes,  to  kidnap  Don  Sebastian 
and  require  a  million  of  ransom,  to  break  into  the  palace 


334  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

one  nif^ht,  and  I  don't  know  what  besides !  All  wild 
ideas  started  by  your  nephew.  But  this  morning  in  my 
house,  while  we  were  lamenting  our  poverty,  we  suddenly 
saw  our  salvation  close  at  hand.  You  as  the  sole  guardian 
of  the  Cathedral.  The  Virgin  on  the  high  altar,  with 
the  jewels  that  are  locked  up  in  the  Treasury  all  the 
rest  of  the  year,  and  I  with  the  keys  in  my  power.  The 
easiest  thing  in  the  world.  Let  us  clean  out  the  Virgin 
and  take  the  road  to  Madrid,  where  we  shall  arrive  at 
dawn  ;  the  Tato  knows  a  lot  of  people  there  among 
cloak  stealers.  We  will  hide  ourselves  there  for  a  little 
while,  and  then  you,  who  know  the  world,  will  guide  us. 
We  will  go  to  America,  sell  the  stones,  and  we  shall  be 
rich.  Get  up,  Gabriel !  We  are  going  to  strip  the  idol, 
as  you  say." 

"  But  this  is  a  robbery  that  you  are  proposing  !  " 
exclaimed  Luna,  alarmed. 

"  A  robbery  ?  "  said  the  bell-ringer.  "  Call  it  so,  if  you 
like — and,  what  then  ?  Are  you  afraid  of  it  ?  More 
has  been  robbed  from  us,  who  were  born  with  the  right 
to  a  share  of  the  world,  but  however  much  we  look 
round  we  cannot  find  a  vacant  place.  Besides,  what 
harm  do  we  do  to  anybody  ?  These  jewels  are  of  no 
use  to  the  bit  of  wood  they  cover,  it  does  not  eat,  it 
does  not  feel  the  cold  in  winter,  and  we  are  poor 
miserable  creatures.  You  yourself  have  said  it,  Gabriel, 
seeing  our  poverty.  Our  children  die  of  hunger  on  their 
mother's  knees,  while  these  idols  are  covered  with 
wealth,  come  along,  Gabriel,  do  not  let  us  lose  any 
more  time." 

"  Come  along,  uncle,"  said  the  Tato,  "have  a  little 
courage.  You  must  admit  we  ignorant  people  know 
how  to  manage  things  when  it  comes  to  the  point." 

Gabriel  was  not  listening  to  them  ;  surprise  had  made 
him  fall  into  a  reverie  of  self-examination.    He  thousrht — 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  335 

terrified  of  the  great  error  he  had  committed — he  saw 
an  immense  gulf  opening  between  himself  and  those  he 
had  beheved  to  be  his  disciples.  He  remembered  his 
brother's  words.  Ah,  the  good  sense  of  the  simple- 
minded  !  He,  with  all  his  reading,  had  never  foreseen 
the  danger  of  teaching  these  ignorant  people  in  a  few 
months  what  required  a  whole  life  of  thought  and  study. 
What  happened  to  people  stirred  up  by  revolution  was 
happening  here  on  a  small  scale.  The  most  noble 
thoughts  become  corrupted  passing  through  the  sieve  of 
vulgarity ;  the  most  generous  aspirations  are  poisoned 
by  the  dregs  of  poverty. 

He  had  sown  the  revolutionary  seed  in  these  outcasts 
of  the  Church,  drowsing  in  the  atmosphere  of  two 
centuries  ago.  He  had  thought  to  help  on  the  revolu- 
tion of  the  future  by  forming  men,  but  on  awaking  from 
his  dreams  he  found  only  common  criminals.  What  a 
terrible  mistake  !  His  ideas  had  only  tended  to  destruc- 
tion. In  removing  from  the  dulled  brains  the  prejudices 
of  ignorance,  and  the  superstitions  of  the  slave,  he  had 
only  succeeded  in  making  them  daring  for  evil.  Selfish- 
ness was  the  only  passion  vibrating  in  them.  They  had 
only  learnt  that  they  were  wretched  and  ought  not  to 
be  so.  The  fate  of  their  companions  in  misfortune,  of 
the  greater  part  of  humanity,  wretched  and  sad,  had  no 
interest  for  them.  If  they  could  get  out  of  their  present 
state,  bettering  themselves  in  whatever  way  they  could, 
they  cared  very  little  if  the  world  went  on  just  as  it  did 
before ;  that  tears,  and  pain  and  hunger  should  reign 
below,  in  order  to  ensure  the  comfort  of  those  above. 
He  had  sown  his  thoughts  in  them  hoping  to  accelerate 
the  harvest,  but  like  all  those  forced  and  artificial 
cultivations,  that  grow  with  astonishing  rapidity  only  to 
give  rotten  fruit,  the  result  of  his  propaganda  was  moral 
corruption.     Men  in  the  end,  like  all  of  them  !     The 


336  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

human  wild  beast,  seeking  his  own  welfare  at  the  cost 
of  his  fellow,  perpetuating  the  disorders  of  pain  for  the 
majority,  as  long  as  he  can  enjoy  plenty  during  the  few 
years  of  his  life.  Ah  !  Where  could  he  meet  with  that 
superior  being,  ennobled  by  the  worship  of  reason,  doing 
good  without  hope  of  reward,  sacrificing  everything  for 
human  solidarity,  that  man-God  who  would  glorify  the 
future  ! 

"  Come  along,  Gabriel,"  continued  the  bell-ringer. 
**  Do  not  let  us  lose  time  it  is  only  a  few  minutes'  work  ; 
and  then— flight !  " 

"  No,"  said  Luna  firmly,  coming  out  of  his  reverie, 
"  you  shall  not  do  this  ;  you  ought  not  to  do  it.  It  is  a 
robbery  you  suggest  to  me,  and  my  pain  is  great,  seeing 
that  you  reckoned  on  me  ;  others  rob  from  fatal  instinct 
or  from  corruption  of  soul,  you  have  come  to  it  because 
I  tried  to  enlighten  you,  because  I  tried  to  open  your 
minds  to  the  truth.    Oh  !  it  is  horrible,  most  horrible  !  " 

"  What  is  the  use  of  all  these  objections,  Gabriel  ? 
Is  it  not  a  bit  of  wood  ?  Whom  do  we  harm  by  taking 
its  jewels  ?  Do  not  the  rich  rob,  and  even,'one  who 
possesses  anything  ?  Why  should  we  not  imitate 
them  ?  " 

"  For  this  very  reason,  because  what  you  propose 
doing  is  a  suggestion  of  evil,  because  it  perpetuates 
once  more  that  system  of  violence  and  disorder  which 
is  the  root  of  all  misery.  Why  do  you  hate  the  rich,  if 
what  they  do  in  sweating  the  poor  is  just  the  same  as 
what  you  are  doing  in  taking  possession  of  a  thing  for 
yourselves — understand  me  well — for  yourselves — and 
not  for  all.  The  robbery  does  not  scare  me,  for  I  do  not 
believe  in  ownership  nor  in  the  sanctity  of  things,  but 
for  this  ver\'  reason  I  detest  this  appropriation  to  your- 
selves and  I  oppose  it.  Why  do  you  wish  to  possess 
all  this  ?     You  say  it  is  to  remedy  your  poverty.    That  is 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  337 

not  true.  It  is  to  be  rich,  to  enter  into  the  privileged 
group,  to  be  three  individual  men  of  that  detested 
minority  which  desires  to  enjoy  prosperity  by  enslaving 
humanity.  If  all  the  poor  of  Toledo  were  now  shout- 
ing outside  the  doors  of  the  Cathedral,  rebellious  and 
emboldened,  I  would  open  the  way  for  them,  I  would 
point  out  those  jewels  that  you  covet,  and  I  would  say, 
*  Possess  yourselves  of  those,  they  are  so  many  drops  of 
sweat  and  blood  wrung  from  your  ancestors ;  they 
represent  the  servile  work  on  the  land  of  the  lords,  the 
brutal  plundering  of  the  king's  cavaliers,  so  that 
magnates  and  kings  may  cover  with  jewels  those  idols 
which  can  open  to  them  the  gates  of  heaven.'  These 
things  do  not  belong  to  you  because  you  happen  to  be  the 
most  daring ;  they  belong  to  all,  as  do  all  the  riches  of 
the  earth.  For  men  to  lay  their  hands  on  everything 
existing  in  the  world  would  be  a  holy  work,  the  redeem- 
ing revolution  of  the  future.  To  possess  yourselves  of 
some  portion  of  what  by  moral  right  is  not  yours,  would 
only  be  for  you  a  crime  against  the  laws  of  the  land, 
for  me  it  would  be  a  crime  against  the  disinherited,  the 
only  masters  of  the  existing " 

"Silence,  Gabriel,"  said  the  bell-ringer  harshly;  "  if  I 
let  you,  you  would  go  on  talking  till  dawn.  I  do  not 
understand  you,  nor  do  I  wish  to.  We  came  to  do  you 
a  good  turn,  and  you  treat  us  to  a  sermon.  We  wish  to 
see  you  as  rich  as  ourselves,  and  you  answer  us  by  talking 
of  others,  of  a  lot  of  people  that  you  don't  know,  of  that 
humanity  N\ho  never  gave  you  a  scrap  of  bread  when 
you  wandered  like  a  dog.  I  must  treat  you  as  I  did  in 
our  youth  when  we  were  campaigning.  I  have  always 
loved  you  and  I  admire  your  talents,  but  we  must  really 
treat  you  like  a  child.  Come  along,  Gabriel !  Hold 
your  tongue,  and  follow  us !  We  will  lead  you  to 
happiness!     Forward,  companions!" 

c.  z 


338  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

The  Tato  and  the  shoemaker  stood  up,  walking  to- 
wards the  railinfjs  of  the  high  altar,  the  Tato  seized 
one  of  its  gates,  and  half  opened  it. 

**  No  !  "  shouted  Gabriel  with  energy.  "  Stop ! 
Mariano,  you  do  not  know  what  you  are  doing.  You 
believe  your  happiness  will  be  accomplished  when  you 
have  possessed  yourselves  of  those  jewels.  But  after- 
wards? Your  families  remain  here.  Tato,  think  of 
your  mother.  Mariano,  you  and  the  shoemaker  have 
wives — you  have  children." 

"  Bah  !  "  said  the  bell-ringer.  "  They  will  come  and 
join  us  when  we  are  in  safety  far  away.  Money  can  do 
everything — the  thing  is  to  get  it." 

"  And  your  children  ?  Shall  they  be  told  their 
fathers  were  thieves  !  " 

"  Bah  !  they  will  be  rich  in  other  countries.  Their 
history  will  not  be  worse  than  that  of  other  rich  men's 
sons." 

Gabriel  understood  the  fierce  determination  that 
animated  those  men.  His  endeavours  to  restrain  them 
were  useless.  Mariano  seized  him,  seeing  he  was  trying 
to  push  between  them  and  the  altar. 

"  Stand  aside,  little  one,"  he  said.  "  You  are  no  use 
for  anything.  Let  us  alone.  Are  you  afraid  of  the 
Virgin  ?  Undeceive  yourself,  even  if  we  carry  off  all 
she  has,  she  will  work  no  miracle." 

Gabriel  attempted  one  final  effort. 

"  You  shall  do  nothing.  If  you  pass  the  railings, 
if  you  approach  the  high  altar,  I  will  ring  the  call  bell, 
and  before  ten  minutes  all  Toledo  will  be  at  the  gates." 

And  opening  the  iron  gate  of  the  choir,  he  entered 
with  a  decision  that  surprised  the  bell-ringer. 

The  shoemaker  in  tipsy  silence  was  the  only  one  who 
followed  him. 

"  My  children's  bread !  "  he  murmured  in  thickened 


THE    SHADOW   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL  339 

speech.  "  They  wish  to  rob  them  !  They  wish  to  keep 
them  poor  !  " 

Mariano  heard  a  metallic  clatter,  and  saw  the  shoe- 
maker raise  his  hand  armed  with  the  bunch  of  keys 
which  had  fallen  on  the  marble  steps  of  the  railing, 
then  he  heard  a  strangely  sonorous  sound,  as  if  some- 
thing hollow  was  being  struck. 

Gabriel  gave  one  scream,  and  fell  forwards  on  the 
ground  ;  the  shoemaker  continued  striking  his  head. 

"  Do  not  give  him  any  more — stop  !  " 

These  were  the  last  words  Gabriel  heard  confusedly, 
as  he  lay  stretched  at  the  entrance  of  the  choir ;  a 
warm  and  sticky  liquid  ran  over  his  eyes  ;  afterwards — 
silence,  darkness  and — nothing  ! 

His  last  thought  was  to  tell  himself  he  was  dying — 
that  probably  he  was  already  dead,  and  that  only  the 
last  vital  struggle  remained  to  him,  the  last  struggle  of 
a  life  vanishing  for  ever. 

Still  he  came  back  to  life.  He  opened  his  eyes  with 
difficulty  and  saw  the  sun  coming  through  a  barred 
window,  white  walls,  and  a  dirty  and  darned  cotton 
counterpane.  After  great  wandering  and  stumbling, 
he  could  collect  his  thoughts  sufficiently  to  form  one 
idea  :  they  had  placed  the  Cathedral  on  his  temples — the 
huge  church  was  hanging  over  his  head  crushing  him. 
What  terrible  pain  !  He  could  not  move  ;  he  seemed 
fastened  by  his  head.  His  ears  were  buzzing,  his 
tongue  seemed  paralysed.  His  eyes  could  see  feebly, 
as  though  the  light  were  muddy  and  a  reddish  haze 
enveloped  all  things. 

He  thought  that  a  face  with  whiskers,  surmounted  by 
the  hat  of  a  civil  guard,  bent  over  him,  looking  into  his 
eyes.  He  moved  his  lips,  but  no  one  heard  a  sound. 
No  doubt  it  was  the  nightmare  of  his  old  persecutions 
returning  again. 


340  THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL 

They  looked  at  him,  seeing  that  he  opened  his  eyes. 
A  gentleman  dressed  in  black  advanced  towards  his 
bed,  followed  by  others  who  carried  papers  under  their 
arms.  He  guessed  they  were  speaking  to  him  by  the 
movement  of  their  lips,  but  he  could  hear  nothing. 
Was  he  in  another  world  ?  Were  all  his  beliefs  false, 
and  after  death  did  another  life  exist  the  same  as  the 
one  he  had  left  ? 

He  fell  again  into  darkness  and  unconsciousness.  A 
long  time  passed — a  very  long  time.  Again  he  opened 
his  eyes,  but  now  the  haze  was  denser,  it  was  not  red 
but  black. 

Through  this  veil  he  thought  he  saw  his  brother's 
face,  horrified  and  drawn  with  fear  ;  and  the  cocked 
hats  of  the  civil  guards,  those  nightmares,  surrounding 
poor  Wooden  Staff.  Afterwards,  more  misty,  more 
uncertain,  the  face  of  his  gentle  companion,  Sagrario, 
looking  at  him  with  weeping  e3'es  in  terrible  grief, 
caressing  him  with  her  glance,  fearless  of  the  black, 
armed  men  who  surrounded  her. 

This  was  his  last  look,  uncertain  and  clouded,  as 
though  seen  by  the  light  of  a  flying  spark.  Afterwards, 
eternal  darkness  and  annihilation. 

As  his  eyes  were  closing  for  ever,  a  voice  close  to 
him  said : 

"  We  have  followed  your  scent,  rascal ;  you  were  well 
hidden,  but  we  have  discovered  you  through  one  of 
your  own.  Now  we  shall  see  what  account  you  can 
give  of  the  Virgin's  jewels,  thief!  " 

But  the  terrible  enemy  of  God  and  social  order  could 
give  no  account  to  man. 

The  following  day  he  was  carried  out  of  the  prison 
infirmary  on  men's  shoulders  to  disappear  in  the 
common  grave. 

The  earth  kept  the  secret  of  his  death,  that  frowning 


THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  341 

Mother  who  watches  men's  struggles  impassively,  know- 
ing that  all  grandeur  and  ambitions,  all  miseries  and 
follies  must  rot  in  her  breast,  with  no  other  object  than 
the  fertilisation  and  renovation  of  life. 


N.B. — The  jewels    were  stolen  from  the  sacristy  of 
Toledo  Cathedral  in  1868. 


JiKADBfhV,   AONEW     &    CO.    H).,    FKINTERS,    LONDON    AN1>   TONBRIDCE, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara  College  Library 
Santa  Barbara,  California 

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